Possibly, Maybe, Definitely
by imagine everything
Summary: James and Lily's friendship started off rocky. The crumbling only really began in their third year, when James beceame more determined than ever to get Lily. She can't understand why, becoming even more determined not to let him in.
1. Good Luck With Her

**Author's Note: **Okay, so when I started this chapter, I wasn't thinking too much about what would happen in the end, just that certain events would happen. But most of the plot _has_ been planned out, just not specific details.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing familiar.

-&-

**Chapter One: Good Luck With Her**

-&-

"Lily, I honestly don't understand what you're trying to tell me," Lauren Evans sighed as she arranged the strawberries on the cake. "Slow down, dear; the moment you get that later your speaking skills seem to leave you for at least a week," she added, giving her youngest daughter a look before she wiped her hands on her apron.

"I honestly don't understand why you don't just lick the icing off your fingers," Lily cried joyfully as she danced around her mother. "Third year is the year that we can go to Hogsmeade, the Wizarding town near Hogwarts," she repeated for the umpteenth time since she'd gotten her letter.

"Just sign it Lauren and maybe she'll leave us alone," Aaron Evans laughed, his bright green eyes dancing with happiness as his youngest skipped around. He had the dark hair of Lily's older sister, Petunia, though, but shared more of an enthusiasm with Lily.

"Yes, but I—I just want to make sure that my little girl will be safe in such an open town. I _have_ been keeping up with that _Daily Prophet_ and apparently there's a wizard at large just _dying_ to kill anyone without magic, or from a non-magic background. What was that word they use for it? Oh yes, Muggle," Lauren mumbled to herself as she patted her greying red hair to make sure it was still in place.

"You look beautiful, mother," Lily said as she happily danced around, the permission slip and letter in her hand as her skirt flowed around her.

"Come here, you," Aaron laughed as he picked Lily up by the waist.

"_Dad_!" she cried loudly and he sighed.

"I forgot, you're a teenager now," he mumbled, bending down to get to her petite height. "Promise you won't make too much of a fuss with our guests?" Aaron asked, leaning in a little.

"I promise on Merlin's fuzzy jumper that I won't make a fuss," Lily giggled, rubbing the tip of her nose against her father's and breaking the indifferent exterior she usually wore at school, especially around a certain James Potter. She jumped as the doorbell rang. "Who did you say we were meeting, dad?" she asked, running to the door just as Petunia came down.

"I'll be using the back door to meet Vernon. Call me when the freaks have left," she said stiffly, practically ignoring her younger sister. Petunia quickly retreated to the kitchen just to remove herself from the surroundings.

"They're a family who has a kid that goes to school with you. He's actually your age," Lauren replied as she haphazardly threw her apron into the floor of one of their cabinets.

"Really?" Lily asked, her eyes widening. "What's his name?" she said, obeying her dad as he gestured for her to open the door.

"Well, hello there," a woman with the shiniest black hair said, smiling widely as she held the hand of a child behind her, who was obviously interested in doing something else.

"It's nice to meet you," Aaron said, shaking hands with the man with hazel eyes and greying brown hair, whose free hand was holding onto another boy's wrist. Both boys' faces were obscured by the parents, who looked like they were trying very hard not to yell.

"And you must be their little girl," the man said, giving her a warm smile past the lenses of his glasses.

Lily stared intently into those eyes, feeling their familiarity, until her dad nudged her. "I'm Lily," she said politely and the parents suddenly looked perplexed.

"Will you hold on for a moment?" the woman asked as she and the man turned around. "James Finn Potter, what is the matter with you?" she asked just as the man scolded the boy he had been holding onto.

"I told you that if you were visiting us, Sirius, you and James have to act accordingly," the man said.

"But, you see, Mr. Potter, I _was_ acting accordingly. I was basing my behaviour according to James," the boy answered smugly and Lily's eyes widened.

"No," she whispered just as the adults turned around again, this time dragging the boys to stand in front of them.

"I do believe the two of you know Lily?" Mr. Potter asked and Lily looked terrified.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost, Lilykins. Where are they? I'll fight them off for you," James suggested, flipping out his wand.

"Who would've thought that it would be your parents fault you'd see us this summer?" Sirius smirked as she opened her mouth to say something back to them.

"It's a pleasure to have you here," Lauren said putting a hand on Lily's left shoulder.

"Yes, it _is_," Aaron added, squeezing Lily's right shoulder gently and her scowl turned into a wide, faked smile.

"The three of us _are_ acquainted," Lily confirmed as James and Sirius stepped into the foyer.

"So, Caleb, isn't it?" Aaron asked as he led Mr. Potter into the living room.

"Only if your name is Aaron," Mr. Potter laughed as Lauren led Mrs. Potter into the kitchen.

"I'm surprised Lily's never mentioned you, um," Lauren started and Mrs. Potter laughed gaily.

"My name is Juliana, and I'm not sure I know your name."

"Lauren, Lauren Evans," she replied just as the two disappeared behind the kitchen's swinging door.

"So, my Lily flower, what have you been up to this summer?" James asked, taking a step forward.

"Don't you _dare_ talk to me, Potter," Lily seethed and James only smirked back as Sirius stepped back once.

"Come on, James, obviously we're not wanted _in _the house, so let's go meet the neighbours. I'm sure they're such _wonderful_ Muggles," Sirius joked, winking at Lily as he walked towards the house across the street—her grandmother's house.

"Sirius—no!" Lily cried, catching him in the middle of the street and grabbing his elbow to stop him.

"Lily!" James called out, grabbing her arm and pulling the two back as a car whizzed by. "Are you crazy?" he asked her worriedly. "You could've died," James added, gripping her shoulders and looking her over to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine, Potter, if Black here hadn't been stupid and tried to cross the street, that wouldn't have happened," Lily spat just as the door across the street opened.

"Lily Addison Evans, did I just see you almost get run over by that car?" an old woman with faded red hair asked as she stood at the doorway, folding her frail arms over her chest.

"Sorry, grand mum, I was just trying to keep my friend here from doing the same thing," Lily blushed, smiling sheepishly.

"Who are these friends? I don't think I've met them," the woman called before gesturing Lily towards her house. "Bring them over and we'll have some tea and biscuits," she added, turning back into her house.

James smirked when Lily's eyes got as big as a car wheel. "Are you alright, Lilykins?" he asked smugly and Lily turned to him, glaring.

"That is my grandmother in there and she has absolutely _no_ idea about Hogwarts or anything, so you two are friends from Martin's School for Gifted Students, do you understand?" she told them forcefully, raising an eyebrow at Sirius and James.

"Absolutely, Lilykins," James replied, giving a wide smile.

"And you will call me _Lily_ when in the presence of my parents and grandparents. Otherwise, I'd prefer _Evans_ from you, and _nothing _else," Lily seethed and Sirius scoffed in approval.

"Feisty aren't you?" he chuckled as Lily's grandmother showed up at the doorstep.

"Well hurry up, won't you?" she called, leaving her door open as the three teenagers ran across the street towards her house.

"This place looks pretty normal for a Muggle grandmother's house," James mumbled as they entered the house that was ultimately similar to that of the Evans' across the street.

"So, how do the two of you know my Lily here?" Isabelle Mollera asked the boys as she poured the three some tea.

"Oh, we attend Martin's with her," James replied and Lily silently prayed a quick thank-you to Merlin.

"Yeah, great professor," Sirius said and James kicked his calf as Mrs. Mollera eyed the boy suspiciously.

"You have a lovely house here, ma'am," the hazel-eyed boy said when the woman sat down. "Such great decor," he added, smiling sincerely.

"Oh no," Lily muttered to herself, a worried look crossing her face. She smiled sadly at James and Sirius, who were suddenly being dragged to their feet.

"Come, I want to show you my late husband's little trophy room; he and I kept all our keepsakes in there," Isabelle said reminiscently.

"Oh," said Sirius, sending a dangerous look at James, who shrugged, but gave a smug smirk as Lily stood by him on their way upstairs.

"Don't get any ideas, Potter, with your parents here the Ministry won't mind if I do a Jelly-Legs Jinx. They'll simply believe that _they_ did the magic," Lily whispered into his ear before leaning away and listening to her grandmother's story for the five-hundred-fifty-second time in her life—she'd counted.

"You read up on that, didn't you?" Sirius chuckled from ahead of them just as they stopped by a door with five locks on it.

"Five, two, three, one, four," Lily whispered as her grandmother opened the locks in that order.

"You've been here _way_ too many times," James said matter-of-factly.

"She always forgets that I've already seen it," Lily shrugged, then without thinking, added: "Sev thinks she's gone senile, like he predicts Dumbledore will, but she's a sweet woman."

"Right," James said, his smile turning into a scowl.

"Now, boys, what you're about to see is a collection of my most prized possessions. SO if you'd please," Isabelle said solemnly. "Don't touch anything," she finished ominously, but since Lily had mouthed the words as well, the boys had to work to hold back some laughter.

"You have our word, Mrs. Mollera," Sirius said, kissing the back of her hand, having Lily make a face of disgust at the sight.

"What did you say your names were again?" the old woman asked.

"We didn't, but I'm Sirius Black and this is my best friend, James Potter. His parents were the ones that brought us here," Sirius replied proudly, as if he was part of the Potter family.

"James...Potter...where do I know that name from?" Isabelle muttered as she led the boys into the middle of the well-kept trophy room.

"The only room of the house she'll clean willingly every day," Lily said lovingly of her grandmother.

"These are trophies that my husband and I won when we were in the bowling league," the woman told them as she dragged Sirius along.

"So, you talk about me with your grandmother, ay?" James asked smugly, leaning towards Lily's ear.

Lily flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Only when she asks," she said simply. "You have now way out of this monumental piece of her life, so you might as well pay attention," Lily added, a weird, tingly feeling erupting through her, giving her goose bumps. She rubbed at her arms to try and rid herself of them, but they only seemed to _stay_.

"Cold?" James asked, making a move to remove the jacket that his mom undoubtedly made him wear.

"No, I'm fine," she replied simply, ceasing the rubbing, even though the goose bumps hadn't gone away. What was going on?

-&-

An hour later, Mrs. Mollera finished with her 'tour' and was leading the three towards the sidewalk again.

"Don't forget to watch out for cars now, dear," Isabelle told them before waving them off towards Lily's house.

"Oh good, you three are here just in time for lunch," Lauren called out, clapping her hands as she set the food down onto the table. "Come on, then," she said, placing her husband at one end of the table, and herself to his right and Caleb Potter to his left. Juliana Potter slipped into the seat next to her husband and told the boys to behave just as Lily slipped into the empty seat across from Juliana, as was her habit when there was guests—always an empty seat from her mother (who she usually sat right next to).

"Awe, trying to get me to sit in front of you?" Sirius smirked as James slipped into the seat next to Lily. "Good luck with her, James, I think she wants me instead!" Sirius joked and the other two glared at him.

"Don't flatter yourself, Black," Lily said in a tone low enough that the adults wouldn't hear.

"You hurt me, Evans," Sirius said mockingly before he dug into his food.

Lily opened her mouth to say something but decided against it as the boys treated their mouths like garbage disposals. "You eat like animals," she muttered just as the doorbell rang.

"Sweetie," Lauren said simply, turning to her daughter slightly, who had already stood up.

As they were taught, James and Sirius stood up as well. Lily, taken aback, wasn't sure what to do and continued to the door. The boys, out of plain curiosity, followed along.

"Evans," Lily said simply as she opened the door to the sight of a man in dark green Wizarding robes looking solemn and holding onto a suitcase.

"Are you Miss Lily Evans?" the man asked icily.

James, after sensing a bit of fear in Lily, sidestepped her to stand in front of the red-head. "Who's asking?" he asked coldly as Sirius joined him.

"Hersen Zuiver," the man replied, giving the teens a cold look. "She is only agreeing to stay with you, Miss Evans," he said, roughly dragging Emma to the foyer. "Good luck with her," Hersen continued, dropping the suitcase next to the door.

"Who—what are you doing here, Zuiver?" Caleb asked angrily as he and the other adults showed up behind the teens.

"Reed is dead, Potter. All because of that raid you skipped to spend time with your family," Hersen said simply, glancing at James in the last part.

"Emma, oh no," Lily cried as she fell to the ground next to her best friend. "I'm so sorry," she whispered as she hugged Emma, close to tears.

"He—my mum, she didn't—she wanted my out of the house while she dealt with it—is it okay?" Emma whimpered as Sirius dropped next to her, putting a hand on her back.

James, unsure how to feel about his father skipping out on his duty, sat next to Lily, putting a hand on her shoulder, not daring to do more.

"James, I think we should—go. We had a lovely time, Lauren, but we can see that you have something to deal with," Juliana said as Caleb stood in shock, just staring at the sight ahead of him at the sight of the teens, which had moved Emma to lean on the staircase.

"Thank you for coming. I'm so sorry that you couldn't stay long," Lauren replied just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," James whispered, standing up.

"No, I—," Lily started, standing up as she let go of Emma's hand. She couldn't forget her manners; they were what was keeping her put together while her best friend lay helplessly on the floor.

"It's okay," James said, grabbing his coat.

Lily reached for the door at the same time as James and they tugged at it unaware. "No, you're the...guest," Lily said, suddenly feeling James' warm hand underneath hers.

"What happened...Lily?" Severus Snape asked in the doorway. "Potter," he muttered, seeing James in the house and his heart felt a little pained as he saw that he and Lily had their hands together.

"Snape now isn't a good time," James said seriously as Juliana gripped his shoulder and led him out.

"Nice meeting you," Sirius said one last time before he was ushered out by Caleb.

"What's he talking about?" Severus asked as Lily bit her lip and her eyes welled up. "Lily," he repeated softly as she turned around, trying not to show the tears. When she turned, he noticed Emma's limp, blond curls shaking rapidly. "I'll—I'll come back later," he whispered, stepping back as Lauren came to the door.

"Thank you, Severus. Try tomorrow, will you? It's still a shock," she told him, apologetically shutting the door on his descent.

**Author's Note: **Please review; I want to know how I'm doing.  
-_imagine everything_


	2. Definitely Just A Game

**Author's Note: **So _this_ is what happens when its summertime and you have nothing to do but write. You get chapter out of chapter out.

**Disclaimer: **Nothing familiar is mine. Yes, even that line from the first movie.

-&-

**Chapter Two: Definitely Just A Game**

-&-

The whole of the next week, Emma and Lily walked around in a weird sort of daze. It was a daze that neither of them had really ever been to, a sort of depressed daze. Lauren, Aaron, Isabelle, and even Severus were noticing the change in them after the first few days.

"Girls, we're going out," Lauren finally said once the eighth day was up. She had gone up to the room that the two were sharing, where they only ever seemed to show _any_ emotion, and starting pulling out their robes and other shopping necessities for the Wizarding world that they kept tucked away underneath the floorboards of Lily's wardrobe.

"Where?" Lily and Emma asked simply as Lauren pulled out some parchment from her pocket.

"Diagon Alley; after all, we need to get your things," Lauren replied, holding out the girls' money pouches to them as they grabbed their robes.

"Alright, girls, you have your lists and your money. I'll be at Flourish and Blotts until three. Then we can meet up at Madam Malkin's and I'll take you to that ice cream shop," Lauren told the girls, handing them both the lists and the money. "Try not to do anything stupid, alright?" she chuckled, receiving small smiles from the girls. Satisfied that she had gotten some emotion out of her, she turned around and walked into the bookstore.

"So, what do we do now?" Emma asked a mischievous glint in her eyes as they rested on the Quidditch shop.

"School supplies first, then we'll quench your thirst for Quidditch," Lily told her, grabbing her wrist and dragging her towards the Apothecary. "What other classes are you taking?" she asked and Emma bit her lip in thought.

"Well, almost everything I could, really, you?" Emma told her friend as they entered the store.

"Everything; I know I'll miss some classes, but I can't make time go back or anything. I just have to make a choice," Lily shrugged as she pulled down jar after jar and bottle after bottle of potion ingredients.

"You're delusional," Emma said in shock as they paid for the products.

"No, just ambitious," Lily chuckled as she and Emma left the Apothecary in moods a little lighter than before. "Oh," she whispered as a group of four boys approached them.

"Hello there, Lily," Remus said simply as Peter nodded in acknowledgment.

"Are you two alright?" Emma asked as James and Sirius as they stood to the side, looking absolutely infuriated.

"My father is an idiot," James said simply and Sirius nodded angrily in agreement.

Remus rolled his eyes as Lily's widened.

"Surely you don't mean that," she whispered, willingly taking a step towards James, an action that surprised Remus a lot. "Your father seemed like a great man," Lily added as James' eyes softened a little.

"He broke his promise to protect the Wizarding world because he didn't want to miss the lunch," James said, the anger returning to his eyes.

Lily stepped back, unsure what to do. She could give him a hug, but this was _James Potter_ we were talking about and she wasn't sure if she wanted to do that completely. "He probably just doesn't want to see his son all grown up, it's the same with Muggles too, you know," Lily said firmly. "We'll see you boys around," she added as she and Emma, whose happiness level had suddenly fallen, walked past them towards the pet shop to get more food for their owls. Soon, the two were back to their normal cheerful selves, or at least, it seemed so to any outsider. Really, though, the two had learned to mask emotion by happiness even while they talked about the most horrid of things.

"How do you think James' dad feels about him hating him like that?" Emma asked as she perused the Quidditch aisles.

"Absolutely horrible, I'm sure. His only son hates him," Lily sighed as she looked around the action figures aisles. "There you are," she said, reaching for a box on one of the higher shelves. "Have you found yours yet?" Lily asked Emma, hoping her much taller friend could reach it for her.

"Are you reaching for this?" a tall teen boy of about sixteen with white-blond hair asked as he took the box out of the shelf, but still held it high out of her reach.

"Give it here, Malfoy," Lily scowled towards the sixth year Slytherin.

"I didn't know you were such a fan of the Magpies, Evans," Lucius Malfoy sneered, handing the box to the blond woman to his right, Narcissa Black, a fifth year of the same house.

"Give it back to her," Emma said firmly, standing next to Lily.

"Oh yes, because we're _so_ afraid of a couple of third years. There are three of us and two of you, _and _we're older," Bellatrix Black snarled as she flipped her dark curls once.

"I don't know, dear cousin, I think beauty matters much more before age, don't you?" Sirius said as he stepped out from behind one of the aisles, followed by Remus, Peter, and James, who was looking a lot more James-like.

"Well then I guess you and your friends are all out of luck," Bellatrix chortled and the other two joined in.

"You'll make someone a lovely second wife," Remus said simply and Bellatrix laughed.

"What did you say to me?"

"I _said_, you'll make someone a very good second wife," Remus repeated forcefully, shocking the girls.

"Why you little mongrel!" Bellatrix shouted. "I am faithful to my Rodolphus through and through!" she yelled, taking her wand out, soon followed by the other two.

"Do you really want to do that?" James asked as their side whipped out their wands (all but Peter, who was fumbling with it), but being utterly discreet about it.

"What's this? Trying to start a fight in my shop are we?" the shopkeeper cried out in anger at the sight of the older students' wands. "You'd better put those away before I confiscate them, and that's a promise!" the old man shouted, waving his fist at the teens.

Lucius and the sisters stored away their wands and walked out the door, dropping the box on the ground.

James went over and picked it up. "A Magpies Chaser?" he asked Lily as she reached awkwardly for the box.

"Yes, what about it?" she asked, jumping to get the box back onto the shelf.

"Nothing, just curious at how much you cease to amaze me, Evans," James replied, standing next to her as he took the box and replaced it on the shelf. "How are you going to get it down later when you're doing some early Christmas shopping?" he whispered in her ear and she smirked.

"I'll manage," she answered before getting pulled away by Emma.

"That boy is very much into you," Emma sighed as they walked around Diagon Alley, eating some ice cream before they went off to meet Mrs. Evans for more ice cream.

"It's all a game to him, Em; he's just trying to see how far he can rile me up before I finally snap just to shut him up," Lily said matter-of-factly.

"Of course, that's why he's always chasing you, watching out for you, lighting up when he sees you or hears your name, and finding some way to be near you. Not possibly a game or even maybe a game. Definitely just a game," Emma finished, rolling her eyes.

_She's wrong. It's definitely just a game to him_, Lily convinced herself as she ate her ice cream silently, listening to Emma chatter on about everyone around them.

**Author's Note: **Please do review. It's my only request.  
-_imagine everything_


	3. A Knight in Shining Armour

**Author's Note: **Three chapters in one day; I'm proud of myself. So, here's chapter three of _Possible, Maybe, Definitely_.

**Disclaimer: **Anything familiar doesn't belong to me.

-&-

**Chapter Three: A Knight ****in Shining Armour**

-&-

Lily sighed as she ran through the gateway to Platform 9 and ¾, knowing full well that her parents and Severus were close behind. Emma's mother, Alyssa Reed, had sorted everything out and taken in her daughter again a week after the girls had shopped for their school supplies, so it was an unspoken agreement that Emma would find the compartment (her mother had to be at St. Mungo's early so she was always on time to the train) and Lily would just join her. Whoever joined them later was all up to fate. The past two years it had just been the two and Severus, but Lily had an odd feeling in her stomach that that would change this year. She didn't know how, but she just…knew.

"Alright dear, be careful, behave, be responsible, be accountable, be prepared, and most of all, be ready to write about _everything _to us, do you understand?" Lauren laughed as she pulled her daughter into a tight hug.

"Yes, mum. How 'bout you dad?" Lily asked and her father pulled her into a hug, lifting her off the ground as he stood up.

"Just listen to your mother," he replied, smiling widely. "You take care as well, Sev, you understand?" Aaron told the young boy as he stood off to the side.

"You two have everything you need?" Lauren asked worriedly as the conductor started calling for students to board promptly or be left behind.

"Yes, mum," Lily and Severus joked before they walked onto the train, Lily issuing the help of her father's large, six-foot-three body to get her trunk on.

"Oh, and tell James and Sirius it was wonderful having them!" Lauren called out just as the train left.

"Is Emma still in the same compartment?" Severus asked Lily as they started heading for the back of the train.

"Unless Malfoy got to it first, but he's more of a front of the train kind of guy," Lily replied, rolling her eyes.

"Now, now, Lily, let's not be rude. I do believe your mother has a message for you to give us?" Sirius smirked as he stood in Lily's way.

"Move over," Lily said firmly, staring down at Sirius, which was, in all honesty, a little hard since she was at least a foot shorter than he was.

"He's right you know, my dear. We heard her tell you to tell us something," James replied.

"Well if you're so clever, Potter, why don't you figure it out? Or is your head so full of yourself that it can't even do something as simple as retain things?" Lily asked and Sirius faked a pained look as Severus smirked behind Lily.

"What are you smirking at, Snivellus?" Sirius asked icily and Severus' eyes darkened.

"Oh honestly," Lily said, rolling her eyes as the three boys whipped out their wands. "Like children," she mumbled as she walked away.

Two of the three watched her go, their wands slowly heading for their pockets.

"What's the matter with you, James?" Sirius asked as Remus poked his head out of the compartment.

"Peter wants to know how you'd feel if he ate all the Chocolate Frogs in the compartment," Remus said simply.

"I'm fine with it as long as he didn't eat any of mine," Sirius replied matter-of-factly and Remus only nodded before turning his head slightly.

"Run, Peter," was all he told the small boy and Sirius' eyes bugged out.

"You ate my Chocolate Frogs?!" he cried as James and Severus continued to stand in the corridor, not moving. Suddenly, James turned around and stalked off towards Lily, who had finally found Emma.

"Honestly, they were acting like children," Lily was saying as she unsuccessfully tried to get her trunk inside.

James quietly helped her manoeuvre it inside and she briefly turned her head with a quick thank you before turning back to Emma.

"You'd think they'd get tired of being so competitive sometimes," Lily continued to ramble as she struggled to get her trunk onto the rack overhead.

"Lily," Emma started as James silently helped a frustrated Lily with her trunk again.

"Thank you," she said to James without looking at him as she sat down. "I honestly think Potter's doing all this on purpose to annoy me, but enough about that, how are you?" Lily asked ending in a worried tone as her smiled.

"Do you really think that's _all_ I'm doing it for, my Lilykins?" James asked simply, sitting down next to her.

"Potter!" Lily cried, standing up quickly and stepping away from him. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I came to help you with your trunk. You're welcome by the way," he replied, smirking smugly as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Um, no problem, I guess," Lily said just as Remus poked his head into the compartment.

"I thought you'd be with Lily, James," he sighed, pulling his head out for a moment. "I found him Sirius; I'll take him back," he told the girls, grabbing James' collar and pulling him out the compartment.

"Thanks, Remus," Lily muttered as she sat back down.

"Hm," Emma said, biting her lip as she watched after the boys.

"You look distracted, Em," Lily said simply, pulling out a book.

"No, I'm—I'm okay," Emma said as the trolley lady came up.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked and Lily and Emma practically bounded up to buy their share of sweets.

-&-

"Lily, where's Sev?" Emma asked after almost the entire train ride was over and the two were in their Hogwarts uniforms.

"I honestly don't know, Em," Lily said quietly, fearing that that weird feeling in her stomach was right. "Should we go look for him?"

"And risk being caught by James and Sirius for another we-are-the-best attack?" Emma asked unsurely.

"But, Em, I want to make sure he's okay," Lily said, giving Emma a pair of pleading eyes.

"Fine, let's go," Emma said, suddenly pocketing about half of her candy. "What? I just want to make sure I get my money's worth," she told a dubious Lily.

"Alright, here comes a Muggle-born," a voice whispered as Lily and Emma neared a compartment. Suddenly a boy in Slytherin robes was thrust in front of them and they stepped back unsurely.

"Sev?" Lily asked unsurely as he held out his wand.

"Lily," Severus stated, sending a hesitant look towards Lucius, who sneered.

"Now, Snape," Lucius said and Snape waved his wand once, muttering something Lily and Emma couldn't hear.

"_Protego!_" a voice shouted and suddenly Snape was being locked into a Jelly-Legs Jinx. "Honestly, my dear, if you want a knight in shining armour, just tell me and I'll dress up for you," James said as he appeared next to Lily.

"_Finite Incantatem,_" Lily said, pointing her own wand at Severus' legs. "What do you think you're doing?" Lily asked Severus who only shrugged.

"Tell him, Sev, he was trying to rid the world of _Mudbloods_," Lucius spat and everybody around Lily, whom was his target for the comment, either gasped or sneered.

Lily opened her mouth to say something, gripping her wand tighter, when someone hit Lucius.

"Lucius!" Narcissa cried as the figure stood in front of Lily.

"Don't ever call her that," James said as the train stopped at the station.

"Firs' years, this way!" a large man called as James continued to breathe heavily, still standing protectively in front of Lily.

"Potter, calm down. I _can_ take care of myself, you know," Lily said angrily, slapping his arm.

"Yeah, but you're too good to do anything about it," James pointed out before he and his friends walked off the train.

"Come on, Lils, we should go," Emma said, ushering Lily off the train. She simply glanced at Severus, who looked absolutely regretful, on the floor.

"Here," Remus said, holding out a hand to help the girls off the train.

"Thanks, Remus," Emma said, turning a faded, unidentifiable shade of pink.

"You like Remus," Lily whispered, a small smile on her face as the realization hit her.

"Shh, I don't want him to know. Not yet," Emma said excitedly. "We'll talk more later in the dorms," she finished and Lily nodded as they headed for the horseless carriages.

-&-

**Author's Note: **I know that the Marauders aren't really playing a big role right now, but I'm going to try and stick them into the next chapter for some comic relief. Thanks to _Noc007_ for the review. Again, feedback is well appreciated.  
-_imagine everything_


	4. Only A Saturday

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I'm not really sure if I have anything to say other than: enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Anything familiar that you see, does not belong to me.

-&-

**Chapter Four: Only A Saturday**

-&-

Lily sighed as she sat in the middle of the Common Room with a book on her lap. "Wendelin the Weird was what?" she asked Emma, pleading with her eyes for her to get this one right.

"Weird?" Emma guessed, shrugging. "Lily, it's almost three in the morning. Can't we just—?" Emma was cut off by Lily putting her hand over her mouth.

"Shh," the red-head whispered, her eyes never leaving the back of the Fat Lady's Portrait. Lily dragged Emma to the ground with her so that they were hidden by the large and lumpy red couch.

"That was—exhilarating!" Sirius Black's voice cried out of nowhere.

"Moony'll kill us if we try to do that again," James Potter laughed loudly as a loud swish noise revealed the boys, completely visible, along with a long cloak.

"An invisibility cloak," Emma whispered to Lily, who merely nodded as Peter Pettigrew chuckled in agreement.

"Next time as well, then, I—I p—presume?" he stuttered and Lily watched the three boys intently.

_Moony..._ she thought to herself.

"Come on, _Padfoot_, let's get off to bed before Aislin wakes up," James yawned, folding up the cloak and the three walked upstairs.

Lily and Emma went back to the session just as, true to prediction, the seventh year Prefect came down from the girls' dormitories.

"What are the two of you doing? It's three in the bloody morning!" Aislin cried and Emma sighed.

"My sentiments exactly, Ais," Emma told the Prefect who had, in all honesty, become like her big sister. Lily was thankful that that one thing didn't change with what had happened the past summer. "We've been at school for a month and already Lily's trying to make me..._learn_," she continued, saying 'learn' as if it were Voldemort's name or something.

"Go to bed, the two of you," Aislin said sleepily, pointing up the stairs that she herself started to sleepily ascend.

Emma heartily followed, yawning as she watched Lily put away her things quietly. "I'll see you tomorrow," she finally said, following Aislin's path.

Lily had merely nodded to the two, because in all honesty, she was as awake as an owl. What were those boys doing that was so 'exhilarating?' Who was this Moony character? Why did they stay out all night just to come back at three in the morning? How many times have they already done this? Where was Remus? Had he been the sensible one and stayed behind as the boys did the stupidest thing they could come up with? Or was he sick? Come to think of it, Lily hadn't seen Remus since after dinner. He _must_ have been sick and went straight to the Infirmary from dinner.

She furrowed her eyebrows in thought. On one hand, she could just forget about the idea. On the other hand, Lily could walk over to James and demand to know what was going on. After a moment of thought, Lily's eyes relaxed and she yawned. She'd ask him about it...tomorrow, Lily decided as she fell onto the couch into a deep sleep.

-&-

"Lily, Lily, wake up," Emma's voice whispered and Lily's eyes fluttered open.

"What—what's going on?" she asked, sitting up.

"You went to bed in the Common Room. Merlin knows what would've happened if I hadn't woken up early," Emma replied, sighing with relief.

"I have to get ready," Lily whispered and Emma nodded.

"I'm heading down for breakfast, I'll see you there," she said as Lily fixed her position so that her feet touched the floor.

"How could I fall asleep in the Common Room?" she asked herself, trying to remember what happened last night. "Moony," she whispered to herself, clutching something warm. That's when Lily realized that she had a blanket in her hand and covering up her legs. The red-head made a confused face; she didn't remember any blanket last night. She shook it off and went upstairs. She really did need to get ready for the day, even if it was only a Saturday.

-&-

"Only a Saturday? Lily, are you kidding me? It's the first match of the year with a completely new line-up on our side," Emma said, throwing her hands in the air.

"What's bothering you, gorgeous?" Sirius asked as he slipped into the seat across from her.

"Lily thinks today is _only_ a Saturday," Emma replied giving him an incredulous look.

"_Only_ a Saturday? Are you crazy?" Sirius cried his eyes bugging out.

"Apparently, I am, but I know, the first match of the year where the team we want to win has a completely new line-up, I completely understand the importance of today's events," Lily said, giving a mocking smile to the three Quidditch fanatics.

"They won't appreciate you mocking them," Remus said simply as the three glared at her for a moment.

"I'm going to the library or something, I'll talk to you guys later," Lily sighed, standing up and walking out of the Great Hall.

"Just a question, but has she retained _anything _about Quidditch?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow after the retreating red-head.

"Well, the number of players and a brief summary of what they can do," Emma shrugged. "Or at least, four of the players," she added, sending them a small smile.

"Any teams you know she likes?" Sirius persisted and James perked up.

"No, but I know the team she knows most about," Emma added, chancing a knowing glance at James, who was pretending to be entranced in a story Peter was telling.

"Which would be?" Remus asked and Emma faltered.

"The um, the bird team," Emma stuttered.

"Em, there's more than one bird team," Remus chuckled and Emma's unidentifiable blush returned.

"Right, the M-something," she finished, entranced by Remus' bright blue eyes.

"The _Montrose Magpies_?" James cried out and the whole Great Hall fell silent, including the Head Table.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked the group, peering at them over his half-moon spectacles.

"No, sir, just a small, um," James faltered, but Dumbledore only chuckled, waving them off dismissively.

Once Dumbledore returned to his conversation, the rest of the Hall seemed to follow. After a moment, James turned to Emma.

"How does she know about the Montrose Magpies?" he asked.

"You're some kind of thick, aren't you?" Emma laughed, standing up. "I'm heading to the Common Room until the game, see you guys at the Pitch," she added, grabbing her backpack just as Remus closed his book and stood up as well.

"I'll come with you," he said and Emma's heart practically flew. "If—if that's alright with you, of course," Remus added nervously and she nodded.

"Sure," she replied and they walked out of the Hall, talking.

"Is anything going on between those two?" Aislin asked Sirius.

"Not sure about them, but if you want something to go on between _another_ two, well, I can make that happen," Sirius replied, winking at her.

"Just because he's not here anymore doesn't mean he doesn't know what's going on, you know," Aislin smirked as an owl flew in front of her. "Oh look, it's from Greg," she smiled and Sirius' face dropped. "I advise you to get it out of your system, Sirius," she added apologetically as she started reading the letter.

"She enjoys toying with me," Sirius decided to James.

"That's because you let her," James told him as Peter told him about one of his many neighbours.

"I can't help it if she's gorgeous!" Sirius cried, standing up. He smirked as the whole Hall went silent again. "That's right! I think Aislin O'Connor is _gorgeous_!" he called out and Aislin's eyes widened.

"Sirius Black, what do you think you're doing?" she whispered as he started walking towards the door, a bewildered Peter and a proud James behind him.

"Getting it out of my system," Sirius replied smugly as he left the open-mouthed hall.

-&-

"Lily, I don't know why you try it at _every_ game, you know you'll just end up going anyway," Severus told the Gryffindor as she sat, fidgeting constantly, across from him.

"I—I just don't want to leave you alone," Lily replied, sighing as she read the same paragraph over and over again.

"Go, I don't mind. Don't try it next game either," Severus said, slightly sullenly.

"Really?" Lily asked dubiously. "You don't mind if I go to all the games?"

"You might as well watch it from the beginning and not when I finally say something about it," Severus explained and her bright green eyes lit up.

"Oh thank you, Sev, you're the best," she cried as she started packing up.

"Whatever you say, Lily," Severus said, letting that rare smile come out of him.

-&-

"Here she comes," James told the group excitedly as he trained his binoculars on the red-head for a moment before returning them to Remus, who rolled his eyes. He scooted away from Emma so that Lily would be on his right, making the others grudgingly move over as well.

"We told you she'd come," Emma laughed as she cried out the Ravenclaws' team's names. "This whole new line-up is actually pretty good," she continued, watching the Ravenclaws intently. "Think you guys can help our team beat them?" Emma asked Gryffindor's new Beater and Chaser to her left.

"Of course, what kind of question is that?" Sirius laughed as he shouted some degrading words to Slytherin. "I'm going to crush them like _bugs!_" he cried, laughing maniacally.

"Is it me or do you get more barbaric every game?" Lily asked Sirius as she slipped into the empty seat between Emma and James, who had a goofy grin plastered on his face once the smell of lilacs invaded his nostrils.

"Only if the game gets more intensified," Remus chuckled from Emma's right and Lily nodded, chancing a glance at Emma, who had that inconspicuous pink in her cheeks again.

"Especially if they're against _Slytherin_," Sirius said icily, watching the Beaters hit Bludgers every which way.

"Alri—oh, hello there," Lily muttered as she felt a buzzing sensation around her ears. Her eyes widened as a golden ball hovered in front of her.

"The Snitch likes you," Sirius joked and the Ravenclaw Seeker flew towards it.

Suddenly, the whole world seemed to slow for the girl, and in turn, those around her. One of the Slytherin Beaters had sent a Bludger directly for the Seeker. The Seeker was unaware of the Bludger and continued for the Snitch, which was still hovering in front of Lily, oblivious to the Ravenclaw Seeker. Though, he was far enough away that the Snitch could still have no chance of capture, so it stayed solitary for a few more moments. Lily, though, _was_ aware of the Bludger headed her way and, before she could think, leaned towards her left to dodge for cover. James, who was (in his thoughts) the lucky guy to her left, hugged her tightly just before the Snitch flew off, the Seeker followed, and a Ravenclaw Beater hit the Bludger away from the stands and towards the Slytherin Beater.

"That was _so_ close!" Emma cried as she and the others in the box stared over at Lily, who hadn't moved from James' side.

"Are you alright, Lily?" Remus asked, leaning a little over Emma, whose blush intensified at the closeness.

"Fine, just—just a little scared," Lily said, sitting up and pushing away some hair from her face.

"Don't worry, Lilykins, I'll always protect you," James countered, acting all high and mighty. "Of course, you should go on a date with me first, and then I can officially call you mine. The _whole_ package," he added, smirking smugly.

Lily glared at him. "Just go away, alright? I don't need protecting," she told him and some of the girls gasped. Mutters of 'I wish James Potter would protect _me_,' waved across the box and she rolled her eyes. Why couldn't he go pick on one of _those_ girls?

"Of course, you don't. But remember, _you_ were the one that leaned towards _me_, so obviously you're more into debonair Chasers than slimy old gits, eh?" James said matter-of-factly, standing and cheering with the crowd as Ravenclaw scored another goal. _What did I just say to her? _

Lily simply sat there for a moment before, in the midst of the cheering, stood up and walked away. She needed to think a little. Like about the fact that she had, even though she knew he was there, leaned towards James Potter in her, she hated to say it, time of need. Aware to the fact that she really didn't like that idea, Lily's face of confusion was replaced by an indifferent one. She wasn't letting him get any closer. No, all her ties with James Potter were completely being killed off because he was an arrogant, pompous, uncaring, irresponsible jerk of a boy, especially to Severus, her best friend since she was younger. And the fact that Lily kept getting funny feelings in her stomach whenever he touched her completely did not help his case. _No, I __**can't**_ _have feelings for Potter_, she decided as she walked into the Gryffindor Common Room.

-&-

**Author's Note: **Did you guys enjoy it? Reviews are appreciated.  
-_imagine everything_


	5. The Marauders

**Author's Note: **Okay, so here's chapter five. I'm not sure what I'm on that gets these out so quickly, but I like it.

**Disclaimer: **None that are familiar belong to me

-&-

**Chapter Five: The Marauders**

-&-

Lily kept her eyes on her book as the Gryffindor House came in obnoxiously, discussing the game in volumes that would've bothered Lily had she been paying attention. Of course, Lily had wrapped a little bubble of silence around her, so all she could really hear was her breathing.

"Lily! Where did you go? You missed the last half of the game! Ravenclaw won! That should teach old Malfoy to mess with us, 'ey?" James laughed, plopping himself next to the red-head.

"He's right, Lils. We all thought they were _doomed_, but then the Seeker caught the Snitch and they won! It was amazing!" Emma cried, throwing her hands over her head.

"Exhilarating, actually," Remus said simply and Emma nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm glad you had a good time," Lily replied indifferently and Emma raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you alright, Evans?" Sirius asked crouching in front of her as Emma sat on her other side.

"You're much more quiet than usual," Emma pointed out, peering over at James, who shrugged.

"Lily," James said, reaching for her arm.

"Don't touch me, Potter," she told him coolly, making James, Sirius, Emma, and Remus jump back a little.

"I—why?" he asked.

"Because I obviously don't want you to," Lily said firmly. "Now if you'll excuse me," she finished, standing up and walking to the dormitory.

"What did you do?" Emma asked James who looked more confused than everyone else.

"I'm—I'm not sure," James whispered before she shook her head and followed Lily upstairs.

-&-

"You don't understand, Em, it's not really that simple," Lily sighed as she lay on her bed, facing Emma, who was lying in her own. The two had already slipped on their pyjamas and were simply talking now, or more Emma was begging and Lily was refusing. This had been their routine for the past two weeks and Lily was getting exhausted just from the word no.

"Then tell me. Maybe I can fix it," Emma begged. She didn't want Lily and James to _not_ be friends anymore because it would just complicate so many things.

"You can't. Only Potter can fix this, and he obviously doesn't have the feeling to do so," Lily explained dismissively before she draped her covers over her whole body.

Emma sighed. This was not going to be easy.

-&-

"You're sure you have no idea why she's mad at you?" Sirius persisted the same night Emma was questioning Lily and James just shook his head. The four boys had already gotten ready for bed and were just waiting for sleep to arrive.

"Maybe you said something or did something? Think, James, did you say anything recently that would make her angry?" Remus asked as Peter watched on.

"No, not really," James muttered, running his hand through his hair.

"Well, you'd better find out because the next game is between us and Ravenclaw and we'll need you to be on the top of your game," Sirius said simply, going into the bathroom.

"Honestly, Sirius, can't you think of anything but Quidditch? James just found out the girl that he's liked for the past three years is completely ignoring im now. If she ever does talk to him, it's to insult him. And, knowing Lily, she'll get much better at her verbal comebacks, if she can help it," Remus told him, rolling his eyes.

"I have to get her back, Moony, I have to get her back," James said just as Sirius practically ran out of the bathroom.

"What's wrong, a spider in there?" Emma laughed from the doorway and Sirius hesitated.

"No, just something I wanted to tell the guys in private," Sirius told her and she shook her head.

"I just have to deliver a message. Lily is officially ignoring you guys, mostly you, actually James," Emma said matter-of-factly.

"I know, I figured as much when she reacted to the noise when you spoke to her," James muttered.

"And the whole touching thing, don't forget that," Sirius pointed out and Remus, James, and Emma glared at him.

"I don't know the details of why she's mad at you, but she said that you're the only one who can fix it," she finished and then turned around. "Oh, by the way, we're on to you and your nightly schemes," Emma added, sending a knowing smirk their way.

After she left, the boys were silent for a moment.

"Do you think she's bluffing?" Sirius asked the other three worriedly.

"This is Emma we're talking about. She could be but only she and Lily would be the wiser," Remus said matter-of-factly before he turned to his bed. "Good night, boys," he muttered as he slipped under the covers.

"Oh yeah, Moony, we should all get our own cool names, though," Sirius added just as Remus heard him yawn.

"You'll all have to do that—that thing, then," Remus replied.

"What he said," James added as they all fell asleep in awkward position on the floor, sans for Remus in his bed.

"What thing?" Emma whispered to herself before walking down the steps of the boys' dormitory.

"Oi, what are you doing here?" a voice called and she turned to see Henry Frey called out.

"I was just talking to a friend of mine; he fell asleep, though, so I'm heading back to my dorm," Emma told the Prefect, who narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the blond. "G'night!" she called out as she skipped innocently to her room.

-&-

"Lily, wake up," Emma instructed a week later, shaking her friend to the point of being shook herself.

"What?" Lily asked angrily.

"Today's our first trip to Hogsmeade!" Emma squealed and Lily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"What time is it?" the red-head asked sleepily.

"Eight in the morning; the carriages leave in an hour," Emma told her friend as she stood up.

Lily looked up at the girl to see that she was already dressed in her casual clothes and ready for the trip. "What were you doing up so early?" Lily asked suspiciously and Emma hesitated a little. "Em," she continued. "You know I won't get mad, right? I just want to know."

"Well, I was up because I was having breakfast with the Marauders," Emma replied biting the corner of her lip.

"The _who_?" Lily inquired, running a hand through her hair.

"The Marauders; you know, the name James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter call themselves," Emma explained and Lily nodded, remembering their first act as The Marauders.

"Of course," Lily said indifferently.

"Lily, you promised you wouldn't be mad," Emma reminded her and Lily gave her an incredulous look.

"I am _not_ mad, just in shock, I guess," Lily replied, although why she would be in shock was a question she didn't have an answer for. In the past three weeks, she had already told the whole of Hogwarts that she had absolutely no interest in James Potter. Of course, that only made James seem to want to annoy her more. So by now, he had interrupted, obstructed, and completely annihilated all her conversations with anyone that wasn't with a professor, him, his friends, or Emma. Even Aislin didn't seem to be allowed to talk to her. Naturally, Lily slapped him and they squabbled afterwards.

"So, come down to breakfast?" Emma asked her friend as she headed to the bathroom.

"Of course, but you don't have to stay if you don't want to, I know you've already eaten," Lily added a little downheartedly.

"Oh no, I didn't eat a lot with the boys. You can't really eat with people just shoving food in their mouths like that," Emma laughed, thankful that the boys really _did_ make her lose her appetite earlier.

Lily smiled and nodded before she started getting ready.

"I'll be in the Common Room," Emma called out as she whistled on her way down the stairs.

-&-

"Does that mean she's going?" Peter asked his friends who all nodded when they heard Emma whistling.

"Good, perfect time for me to talk to her," James said excitedly.

"You know, mate, don't you think it's a little obsessive, what you're doing?" Sirius asked as James ran a hand through his hair again.

"It's much more than a little, Sirius, but James is determined to get Lily back even if it kills him," Remus answered.

"Which would completely defeat the purpose of getting her back, but, hey, if that's what he wants," Emma said as she emerged from the shadows.

"Well, of course it's what I want. Lily is going to be my Lily someday," James said confidently and Emma raised an eyebrow at him; did the boy really like her _that_ much?

"Even if you don't like his style, you have to admit, he's got the confidence," Remus said, sending Emma a small smile, making her blush a little. "Are you alright, Em? You look a little flushed," he asked and she rubbed at her cheek self-consciously.

"I do? Oh, must be the weather," she lied, biting the inside of her lip.

Remus gave her a disbelieving look, but shrugged it off. Emma would tell him in her own time. "So, what's the plan this time, James?" he asked and James smiled widely.

"Okay, when Lily comes down from the stairs we'll—," James started just as Lily asked, "You'll do _what_, Potter?" from behind them. "Lily!" he cried nervously and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Look, Potter, I'd rather if you left me alone today, okay? I'll stay out of your way; you stay out of mine," Lily said simply before she continued walking, trying to get past them.

"I don't think that's possible, Lily," James said, holding out an arm to block her path.

"Get out of my way, Potter," the red-head told him icily and he only stepped in front of her completely.

"Look, Lily," James started hesitantly, reaching out to her.

"Don't you _dare_ touch me, Potter, or I'm screaming," Lily seethed and James recoiled. "I am not joking anymore, Potter, let me go or I will _make_ you," she continued, glaring at him viciously.

James looked her in the eyes for a moment before realizing she was serious. "Fine," he said angrily, stepping back. "Evans," he added, stepping to the side.

Emma's eyes widened as she watched the scene between her friends and grabbed Remus' sleeve.

"What's going to happen now?" Sirius asked seriously as she bit her lip a little.

"I don't know, Sirius, but we'll have to help them get over it," Emma replied and Remus only nodded.

-&-

**Author's Note: **Not exactly my favourite chapter, I think, but it's alright. The funny thing is that I based Lily's reaction to one of my friends towards one of the guys she _seriously_ dislikes. Anyway, tell me what you guys thought about it.  
-_imagine everything_


	6. Moony

**Author's Note: **I had some fun writing this chapter. Especially the last half/part of it all.

**Disclaimer:** Anything familiar belongs to Jo.

-&-

**Chapter Six: Moony**

-&-

The year was almost over, exams had been taken, and no matter how hard Sirius, Emma, and Remus worked, they still couldn't get James and Lily to say anything nice to each other. Oh yes, James would occasionally compliment Lily, along with an invitation for a date, and then Lily would slap him. Soon, the three weren't even sure if the two remembered exactly why they were mad at each other and if the other was deserving of the anger. Until, that is, one day after almost everyone had gone to bed, Lily had done something that she had never really done before: she broke the rules.

It was May and they were a few more weeks away from being released back into the world, and Lily was really freaking out. Her sister, Petunia, had decided that she didn't have a sister anymore—or at least not one that she would acknowledge with more than a nod.

After a few days of just sitting there, waiting to find _some_ sort of solution, Lily started watching the moon. She found its increase in size (was it waxing or waning? Lily never could remember) entrancing, like she could watch it her whole life and never get bored. Of course, she knew it would become smaller once it reached its full capacity, but she really didn't care.

One day, she actually went up to the Astronomy teacher and asked if she knew when the next full moon was. Once the date was set, Lily got even more excited about the end of the school year. Of course, she had absolutely no idea what she would be walking into.

The night of the full moon, Lily had been reading in one of the many armchairs. She glanced at her watch and noticed that the moon was about to come out. Standing up, she stopped when she heard Aislin's firm voice say something.

"Where do you think you're going?" the seventh year asked and Lily turned towards her before realizing that Aislin wasn't talking to her, but to a group of three boys. "Well? James? Sirius? Peter? Either of you want to give me an answer?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lily watched as the three tried to come up with an answer, and smiled just a little when all they could do was smile sheepishly.

"Get back to bed and I'll pretend I didn't see you trying to sneak out," Aislin told them, pointing towards the boys' dormitories. "Don't stay up too late watching the moon, okay, Lily?" Aislin added towards the red-head who solemnly nodded.

Lily turned back towards the window even if she felt the three boys' eyes watching her for a moment.

"Come on, James, we should _go to bed_," Sirius said, giving a mischievous intonation to the last three words.

"Right, we sh—should, James," Peter stuttered, trying to use the same intonation as his friend.

"Yeah, let's go," James muttered as Lily simply sat in the windowsill, still as a statue, watching the moon.

-&-

"James, I thought you were over her," Sirius said quietly as they came into the room, trying to be careful not to wake anyone.

"I—I am," James said unconvincingly.

"So what was with watching her watch the moon thing?" Sirius asked as he dug into James' trunk, trying to look for something.

"I honestly don't know, Sirius. One minute I was on my way to the dorms to get the cloak, and then I saw her sitting in the moonlight. She looked so beautiful with her red hair looking softer than ever and her skin was just so...smooth looking, I don't know what's going on," James sighed in defeat as Sirius pulled out the cloak in question.

"Well, I know what'll cheer you up," Sirius said simply, swishing the cloak around a little. "A little adventure with your pal, the Marauders," he added, smirking.

"You're right, let's go see Moony," James announced happily and the Gryffindors huddled under the invisibility cloak.

"Can you hear anything, Pete?" Sirius asked as they stood on the last step of the boys' staircase.

"Footsteps," Peter said quietly as they stuck themselves against the wall.

"Anything, Frank?" fifth-year Alice Thomson's voice asked as they waited, listening intently.

"Nope, no boys out of bed. Aislin sent the last of them up," Frank Longbottom, a sixth year Prefect, told his fellow Prefect.

"Good. Merlin, can you believe what's going on? With that man walking around killing people, no one is safe," Alice whispered worriedly, and James and Sirius shared a glance.

"Don't worry about it, Alice. As long as Dumbledore's at Hogwarts, we can't be touched," Frank replied reassuringly and Alice whimpered.

"I hope so, Frank," she mumbled. "Good night, then," she added, and Sirius, who had chanced a glance, saw her tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

"Good night, Alice," Frank said simply, hugging her tightly. Once he let go, the two started up their respective staircases. Frank walked on the opposite side of the staircase from the Marauders and they took a deep breath as they heard the sixth year boys' dormitory door shut.

"Whew, that was close," Sirius said. "Did you know that those two were going out?" he asked James who shook his head.

"M—maybe we should go back. It's too dangerous, you heard them," Peter stuttered as they stepped into the Common Room.

"No need to worry about it, nothing dangerous will happen," Sirius said as James stopped in his tracks, staring out the window. "What's up, mate?"

"Li—Evans, she was just sitting there, wasn't she?" James asked, pointing towards the windowsill.

"She probably just went up to bed," Sirius shrugged as he and Peter headed for the opening. "Come on," he called out and James followed them.

Just before he walked out of the Common Room, he could've sworn that Lily's book was still resting on the sill.

-&-

She couldn't believe she was doing it, but it had happened. Lily Addison Evans had finally done what everyone else had already done before her; she had broken the rules. Of course, they weren't many; at least, she didn't think they were much.

"I shouldn't be doing this," Lily muttered to herself as she continued walking across the lawn and towards the lake. Holding up her camera, she bit her lip. She had never been to the lake at night, especially when they were specifically told that walking around at night unsupervised was strictly forbidden.

"Then why are you?" a voice asked behind her and she jumped, turning around. "You could get caught you know," the voice continued.

Lily's breathing quickened and her heart beat leaped a little as she searched around for the owner.

"Don't worry, Evans, it's just me," James said, pulling the invisibility cloak over himself and stood visibly in front of her.

"What are you doing out here, Potter?" Lily asked suspiciously, letting go of her camera and letting it hang from her neck.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," James said simply. "Now, Evans, why don't you just go back to the Common Room? Isn't it way past your bedtime?"

"Um, James," Sirius said nervously, pulling the cloak off himself.

"Just a second, Sirius," James said. "Well, Evans?" James asked as Sirius continued to tap his shoulder. "What?" he snapped angrily at Sirius, turning his head.

"Moony," Sirius said simply, pointing somewhere behind Lily.

"Moony? Isn't he that guy that you were talking about earlier in the year?" Lily cried in surprise.

"Lily, don't move," James said slowly.

"Don't call me Lily, Potter," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. Opening her mouth to say something, the red-head wondered what was wrong with the boys. Suddenly, she heard a low growling noise behind her. Turning her head, her green eyes widened. "Oh Merlin," she muttered as the werewolf lunged for her. Lily felt herself get thrown into a tree and dug her face into the shoulder of James, who had pressed her against the tree tightly.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" Sirius yelled and the growling ceased a little. "Blimey, Evans, are you _crazy_?" he cried out, his wand still pointed at the werewolf, as James stepped away and whipped out his wand, pointing it towards the creature as well.

"What—what _is_ that thing?" she asked incredulously.

"Are you blind? Anyone can see that it's a werewolf and you were stupid enough to come out at night with it roaming the grounds!" Sirius cried as James shot the Body-Bind Curse at the werewolf.

"Why are you using the Impediment Jinx? It's not like it can move anyway," Lily asked, completely ignoring Sirius' yells.

"He; the werewolf is a he," James said simply before casting the Stunning Spell.

"Oh, you've _checked_?" Lily cried before Sirius practically slapped his hand onto her mouth.

"Shh, we don't want anyone to know we're here," he muttered and she nodded understandingly; she didn't want to get caught for sneaking out, after all. "What are you doing out here anyway?" Sirius asked her as he removed his hand from her mouth.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," Lily said simply and James' mouth gave up to a traitorous smirk. "How—how do you know that the werewolf's a he?" she asked them as she cautiously knelt near the head of the beast.

"We call him Moony when we talk about him," James said simply. "And just trust us," he added as she reached out to pet Moony's ears. "Um, what are you doing?" the raven-haired boy wondered as she stroked the creature's ear. _Lucky Remus_, he thought to himself, and then mentally slapped himself for thinking so.

"'_Moony'll kill us if we try to do that again_,'" Lily muttered, repeating the words she remembered from months ago.

"James always says that after these nights. Although, back then, we never had to worry about feisty red-heads getting their heads bitten off," Sirius laughed as he leaned on the tree, earning a glare from Lily.

"I didn't mean to get attacked by a werewolf tonight; all I wanted was to—I didn't even know we _had_ a werewolf on the grounds," Lily said, faltering a little in the middle.

"What were you doing out here?" James asked curiously as he watched the moonlight practically shine off her.

"Nothing, nothing, really," Lily mumbled as she moved her hand towards his nose. "Do I—do I _know _the person underneath the fur?" she asked as she stared intently at the eyes.

"How are _we_ supposed to know, Evans?" Sirius said icily, trying to get her attention off of the werewolf.

"Well, you obviously know him since you're here making sure he doesn't get hurt or hurt anyone," Lily said, standing up quickly.

"Think about it, Lily," James said as he stood up as well. "Look, if you're not going to do anything other than just sit here, we'd rather you went back up to the Common Room, Evans," he instructed. "But, um, don't tell anyone about this, okay?" the hazel-eyed boy asked nervously, watching her green eyes for an answer.

"Do you really think I want to tell people that I broke the rules?"Lily told him, rolling her eyes. "Good luck with your furry, little problem, Potter, Black," she told them as she walked off.

"Furry, little problem," James muttered as she slipped into the castle quietly.

"Come on, we have to get back up the tree. Peter's getting nervous," Sirius said as he started climbing.

"Yeah," James muttered, following suit.

-&-

**Author's Note: **I'm starting to think that I have absolutely no idea where things are headed; I just know what I want to happen, but otherwise it's all out of my hands. Hopefully, you guys still liked it.  
-_imagine everything _


	7. She's Dead, Em

**Author's Note:** So it's been a while since my last update, but now I'm back.

**Disclaimer:** Mm-hmm...yeah...definitely not mine.

-&-

**Chapter Seven: She's Dead, Em**

-&-

"Emma," Remus asked as they lay next to the fireplace, him on his back with his feet facing the fireplace and Emma on her stomach facing it. It had been a week since the—was it the fifth or sixth?—most recent full moon of the school year, and he was feeling a bit better. Plus, being fifteen, he'd seemed to have grown a bit more confidence in himself, and he was definitely going to make up for it.

"Yeah?" Emma asked, lifting her head up a little. "What's up, Remmy?" she chuckled and he smiled.

"I was just wondering—," Remus stammered, running a hand through his hair.

"What?" Emma asked, sitting up.

"Em," Sirius called out, stopping immediately at the sight of Remus. "Oh, hey, Moony," he said unsurely, running a hand through his hair.

"Hey, Sirius, what's up?" Remus asked quietly, silently wishing that Sirius had waited just one more minute.

"Um, well, I was just coming to talk to, um, Emma," Sirius said, glancing quickly at the blond, who blushed profusely.

"Is there something going on?" Remus wondered hesitantly and the two shook their heads.

"Em, can I see your planner?" Lily called out as she skipped down the steps from the girls' dormitories. "I need the date for the next Hogsmeade weekend, I know it's not next week, but we only have three weeks left this month," she continued as she searched through the canvas bag.

"Um, well, Lily, it's got nothing in it, you see, and, um," Emma said hesitantly as Lily indifferently grabbed the dark red book from her backpack.

"Okay, good you have the next Hogsmeade week—what?!" the red-head cried out as she read the line underneath 'Hogsmeade Weekend.' "Emma Gail Reed, what does this mean? A date with—mmf!" Lily never finished her sentence since Emma pounced on her, slapping her small hand over Lily's lips.

"A date with _whom_?" Remus asked, turning to Sirius, whose eyes widened, but tried to keep his smile cocky.

"Since when?" Lily asked, pulling her face away from Emma's hand. "Since when were the two of you a couple?" she asked, turning her gaze to Sirius, who had turned his attention to a group of giggling second years.

"Who's a couple, Evans?" James asked as he slipped into the Common Room.

"Emma and Sirius," Remus said indifferently, picking up his book and sitting on one end of the couch.

"Oh," James muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Since when?" he asked, plopping into one of the armchairs.

"Emma," Lily mumbled, biting her bottom lip. "What about—?" she asked, making a small nod towards Remus, who had buried his nose into a book again.

The blond shook her head slightly, and James picked up the small transaction.

"What about _who_, dear?" he asked, standing up and putting his head next to Lily's.

"None of your business, Potter. And don't call me dear," Lily said simply as Emma sighed.

"I'm going to bed," she said, and James snorted.

"It's only three in the afternoon, Reed," he told her matter-of-factly and Lily turned around to face him.

"Your tact is unbelievably lacking, Potter," she said simply, shaking her head at him.

"Well your friend is unbelievably strange, Evans," he replied loudly and the Common Room seemed to quiet down a little.

"Don't bring Emma into this, Potter. And what does it matter what time it is? Maybe she just needs a nap," Lily answered, putting her hands on her hips.

"I stopped napping when I was six, Evans. She's just hiding from something; Gryffindors don't hide," James argued, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Says you; there are different types of brave, Potter; Emma just happens to be a _smart_ kind of brave," Lily said matter-of-factly.

"Oh and what kind are those that _don't_ hide? The stupid kind? I'm sure everyone here admires _that_, Evans," James said, taking an angry step forward.

"No, Potter, the other kind is the brawny kind, and then there's _your _kind which _is_ the stupid kind," she answered, taking a step as well.

"Lily, James," Remus said quietly as he slowly put down his book. He had seen this scenario many times before—Lily and James would argue, they would get closer, and James would try to kiss Lily. Of course, it had only happened this year, but it happened often enough. He allowed a small smile to escape as James seemed to know where this was headed as well.

"Now, now, Lilykins, let's not disappoint the crowd," James whispered, leaning in, smirking.

"Disappoint them with—?" Lily was interrupted when James put his lips to hers. She stood there for a second, stunned, before pulling away in shock. "James Finn Potter, how _dare _you?!" she cried, ready to slap James.

"Oi, calm down," James whispered, his face still leaned towards Lily, grabbing her wrist mid-slap.

Lily took a deep breath and pulled her wrist out of James' grip. "You are an insufferable toerag!" she cried before storming out of the Common Room, her red hair practically flying behind her.

"She wants me," James muttered and Remus rolled his eyes. "So, what's this whole Emma-Sirius business?" he asked and Remus' small smile disappeared.

"Ask them," he shrugged before skulking out of the Common Room.

"Remmy," Emma muttered worriedly as James turned to her and Sirius. She hadn't expected him to react so…weirdly to the news. After all, he wasn't into her…right?

"So, the two of you are a couple, huh?" James asked as Sirius wrapped an arm around Emma's waist and she continued to watch the Common Room exit.

"Yeah, we are," Emma murmured absently as Sirius pulled her towards him.

"Hey, distracted much?" Sirius joked as he pulled her into a kiss.

"Mm, not anymore," she lied, deepening the kiss.

-&-

"Lily! Lily!" Emma cried as she ran after her best friend, who was practically jogging to get away. It was much too late at night for her rule-abiding friend to be out, not to mention the information she had gained from Peter Pettigrew. "Lily, what's wrong? You disappeared for a while and then I get news from _Peter_ of all people that you're upset? What's going on?" she asked as she caught up with her friend, grabbing the redhead's shoulder and turning her around.

"She's dead, Em," Lily whispered, biting her lip. "Mum—she died from unknown circumstances," she continued, sobbing as fresh tears fell down her eyes. "Dad just sent me the letter, and he told Dumbledore, and—and," Lily stuttered just as a whooshing noise sounded behind her. She didn't care, though, who was seeing or hearing this, she was absolutely distraught.

"Lily," James' voice said softly as he came up to her just as she felt a gentle, warm hand on her back. "I'm—I'm so sorry," he continued and she bit her lip, still trying to regain control.

"Dad says that Petunia blames me—after—after I told them about the Killing Curse and—and You—Voldemort," Lily said in broken breaths.

"Shh, don't talk," James said, pulling Lily to him, with Emma unsure what to do. "Don't—don't worry about him; he'll be stopped, I promise," he whispered into her hair as she continued to sob into his shoulder.

"She's gone, she's gone, she's gone," Lily kept chanting that before she slowly fell asleep. It was more like a slumber, than sleep really, since she was practically knocked out. At least, Emma figured that would be her story to Lily when she found out that James Potter had carried her from the dungeons to the Common Room—quite a lot of chances for someone to see them together, after all.

Soon their party of James carrying Lily, Emma following close behind, and Peter scurrying behind them reached the Common Room where Remus and Sirius were absorbed in a game of Wizard's Chess. At least, they were until James bent down to put Lily on the couch.

"You finally got her to carry you, eh, mate?" Sirius said cheekily as James slid down onto the floor, looking somewhere between upset and angry.

"Sirius, shut up, something's wrong," Remus whispered in a scolding tone, kicking Sirius' shin gently. "What is it?" he asked, looking more at Emma, who had chosen to collapse leaning on his chair.

"Lily—she—oh," Emma stuttered, obviously unable to put a whole sentence together; the boys climbed down from their chairs to sit in a circle with the other three.

"Why is Evans unconscious?" Sirius asked cautiously and James closed his eyes. "Prongs," he added as James practically shot up, scaring everyone around him.

"It was his entire fault; _he_ did it," James practically yelled, kicking the leg of one of the armchairs. "_He_ and his Muggle hating group!" he continued as he punched the frame of the fireplace.

"That's going to hurt," Lily's voice mumbled weakly from the couch, making them all spin around.

"Lily," James said breathlessly, looking torn between embarrassed and relieved.

"I'm so sorry, Lily!" Emma suddenly cried, wrapping her arms around her best friend's neck. "I swear from now on I'll pay more attention, and I'll even be your service maid, if you want," Emma rambled as the boys simply sat there, looking at the two.

"Do you promise?"

"Promise what?"

"To do what I ask you," Lily said simply.

"Yes, of course. You wouldn't have collapsed in the dungeons if I wasn't so caught up in my own things," Emma replied fervently.

"Then tell me the truth," Lily whispered low enough for only Emma to hear. Of course, the boys leaned forward to hear well.

"About?"

"About Sirius and Remus," the redhead replied, lowering her voice so that Emma was the only one who could hear her.

Emma paused, staring up at Lily. "A—about them?" she stuttered in a small whisper, but not small enough that the boys didn't hear it.

"About who?" Peter asked curiously before Sirius shushed him.

"Yes," Lily said firmly, biting her lip. She hated putting her best friend in the spot, but what else could she do? The redhead was determined for the truth, and if this was the only way to get it (even if her mum's death letter was still in her iron grip).

"I—_he_ doesn't like me, I swear," Emma finally said and her best friend raised her eyebrow at her. "There's not absolute reason for him not to," she added, almost unsurely.

"And yet _he_ does?" Lily asked and the guys simply followed along the conversation with their eyes.

"Yes, there is," Emma answered firmly, but Lily, reading her friend's eyes, knew that Emma didn't believe that for one second.

"You're not going to admit it to yourself are you?" Lily finally asked, her voice going back to a whisper.

"I _have_ admitted it to myself, now I'm just waiting," Emma said quietly as well.

"Emma, you—," Lily started as Sirius suddenly punched Remus. "Black! What do you think you're doing?" she cried, bolting upright and then kneeling to make sure that the fifth year was alright.

"I'm going outside for some fresh air," Sirius whispered just as Remus stood up, his nose bleeding.

"Oh Merlin's beard," Emma murmured. "Come on, Remus; let's go to the Hospital Wing. I honestly don't know what happened to him—so sorry," she babbled as she plugged up Remus' bloody nose with his scarf.

"I need to shower," Lily mumbled to herself as she stood up, only to feel the paper again. "I _really_ need to shower," she added, stuffing the paper into her robes. She would use mildly hot water and then that scrub that Emma had gotten her two Christmases ago—yes, that would definitely relax her.

-&-

"Padfoot, how could you? After a transformation too!" James scolded his best friend as he paced in front of him.

"Don't you think I know that, Prongs? I feel bad enough as it is," Sirius muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. The two, and Peter, had taken up residence in the Room of Requirement, a room that James and Sirius had found one day in their third year when they were running from Filch and Mrs. Norris.

"Well, maybe—maybe you should just apologize," Peter stuttered and James looked towards one wall, wishing to see a window. His wish was granted and he sighed as he looked out at the dim night sky.

"That makes sense, but I think I went overboard for no reason this time," Sirius mumbled, not noticing as James stood up and watched a figure dash down towards the lake, but looking up as the door opened.

"Moony, hey," Sirius whispered quietly as he nervously ran a hand through his hair.

"Want to tell me what that was about?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow at his best friend.

"Well, I don't know, really, um," Sirius stuttered, unsure how to explain that he had a gut feeling that the guy his girlfriend really liked was his best friend.

"Oh, well, if you—Prongs, where are you going?" Remus asked as James rushed out of the room, muttering curses incoherently.

"Damn it, Lily," was the only thing Remus and Sirius could make of the string of words.

"What'd she do this time? Jump in front of a werewolf?" Sirius tried to joke, but Remus shot him a death glare. Peter suddenly realized that his friends were leaving and sprinted out after them. What the other three Marauders didn't know was that Lily, who had taken a quick shower and decided to go for a little after-hours walk, was actually walking straight into the line of fire of a few not-so-nice Slytherins. James continued running through the halls, but realized that Lily could've been hit by the time he reached there if he didn't move faster. Without thinking, he transformed himself into his stag Animagus form and practically flew the rest of the way there.

"This can't be good," Remus mumbled and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You think?" he asked sarcastically before transforming himself into his own Animagus form, a dog, and chasing after his best friend. Remus, who was the only of the Marauders without an Animagus form, decided to wait for Peter to catch up before continuing his run.

_Lily, I have to save Lily_, was the only thing running through James' head as he ran towards the humming figure. She looked to peaceful and he really hated to disturb it, but—was that a—? _Haha, not on James Potter's watch! _James thought happily as he came over and slipped Lily atop of his antlers (much to her surprise) and ran into the Forbidden Forest just as the Slytherins started shooting jets of light. James was sure that he had been hit in the back with some sort of cutting spell because he could feel something trickling from a particularly stinging wound.

"Oh," Lily said in a surprised tone as he dropped her as gently as he could onto the ground. "Th—Thank you, I think," she whispered just as the stag collapsed in front of her. "Are you—oh, they hurt you," she said sincerely, moving over to James' back. She put a gently hand on it and he almost jumped out of his skin. Lily Addison Evans was actually touching _him_, James Finn Potter. Of course, she didn't really know it was him; she thought it was just some sort of magical stag.

James cringed as Lily's fingers grazed the wound. Her hand flew to her chest; not caring that she was getting blood on her clean pyjamas, as the stag took a step back, widening his eyes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," Lily whispered quietly, clutching her hands to her chest and taking slow, deliberate steps towards the stag. Suddenly, James realized what just happened. "I promise I won't," she added and the stag actually took a step towards her. "There you go," she murmured as she started petting the stag's head.

_I can't believe it. And to think, this is the same thing I watched her do to Moony in our third year_, James thought happily as Lily stroked his ear. Soon she kneeled down in front of him and seemed to lose herself in the formation of the stag's face.

"Okay, now, I'm going to look at your—wound," Lily faltered a little when she looked straight into the stag's hazel eyes. Her stroking became more of an automatic gesture as she looked into its—his—eyes. She was about to say something when the stag twitched as a twig from one of the trees fell onto his back. "Oh, right, sorry," she said, turning a slight pink, as if she expected the stag to remember.

_Does she recognize me? It sure looked like it; I hope she doesn't_, James thought as Lily slowly stood up and walked over to his wound.

"There, there; could you—?" Lily started and James sat down, almost reading her mind. "Thanks," she whispered as she nibbled on her bottom lip like she always did when she was thinking hard.

_She looks so cute when she's worried and thinking, _he sighed mentally and that's when it hit him. Lily Addison Evans was worried about _him_, James Finn Potter. He almost stood up and transformed back into a human to do a victory dance had it not been for Lily pressing something onto his back. He turned his head to see that she had taken off the button-down top of her pyjamas, the ones that she had already bloodied, and pressed it against his wound to try and stop the bleeding. So now she sat before him, in the January chill, in a simple black tank and her dark blue pyjama bottoms. He could tell that she was cold from the occasional shivering movements she made. Unable to stand the love of his life freezing, he stood up on his four legs, startling the redhead.

"Sorry," she whispered as she shook a little. Lily made a motion to stand up but then the stag made a semi-circle around her with his body. "Oh, thanks," Lily said weakly, her teeth chattering, as James watched on. Oh how he wished he could transform and pull out his wand to make her warmer—she obviously didn't have hers, he noted bluntly—but he knew that that would make her more angry than thankful. So he allowed himself to just sit there with her shivering body leaning on him as she was slowly warmed by his fur. After awhile, the stag divided his time between looking around to make sure that no one was coming and watching the now-sleeping redhead. Once he was sure she was deep in her sleep, he transformed long enough to use his wand and warm her up. Once she stopped chattering, he transformed back into his stag form just in case she _did_ wake soon.

-&-

**Author's Note:** This was supposed to be two pages longer, but I wanted to find a stopping point so that it was 5,000 words long. Thank you to _ThoroughlyObsessed_ for the review last chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed. Read and review.  
-_imagine everything_


	8. Just A Bloody Animal

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I messed up the chapter names, but I fixed 'em. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Nothing familiar is mine.

-&-

**Chapter Eight: Just A Bloody Animal**

-&-

"Prongs, is that you?" Remus asked as he and a big, black dog approached them quietly.

"Who else could it be, Moony? What deer do you know that would sidle up to Evans like that?" the dog asked after transforming back into Sirius. "Mate, did you finally get her to undress for you?" he added, noticing the red-head's matching top on James' back.

"He's obviously hurt, Pad," Remus replied, rolling his eyes as he kneeled next to Lily. "I suggest you go get that checked out, Prongs," he instructed the stag, who shook his head. "You are a stubborn ass, you know that?" he sighed as he went to go wake up Lily.

"Wait, what's our story? How did we find her?" Sirius suddenly cried and Remus pulled back quickly.

"Um, how about we were playing Wizard's Chess, you got bored and we started fighting and we ended up next to the window just as the spell cut the stag and we distinctly saw him enter the Forbidden Forest?" Remus asked and Sirius beamed. "What?"

"I didn't know you could lie so well, Moony," Sirius said proudly.

"I can if I want to," Remus answered, a little miffed by the back-handed compliment.

"Well, I didn't think you could pull it off, being a Prefect now and all," Sirius shrugged and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Do either of you have any more questions before I wake her up?" he asked his two best friends just as a rat scurried up Sirius' leg.

"Shush, Wormtail, you got to be quiet so that we can wake up Lily without revealing our secret," Sirius told the rat and he squeaked once, nodded, and threw himself into Sirius' jacket's pocket.

"Okay, can I wake her up now?" Remus asked and when the two visible friends nodded and Peter squeaked, he put a hand to Lily's shoulder and shook her gently. She didn't move much, but simply turned a little and dug her face into James' shoulder.

"You must really be enjoying this, Prongs, she won't get away from you," Sirius chortled and the rat squeaked in his pocket.

"Lily," Remus finally resorted to speaking as he shook the redhead.

"Six more minutes," she murmured, burrowing her face even deeper into James' fur.

"Six? Prongs, what's wrong with your girlfriend? Everyone knows that if you don't want to wake up you say _five_ minutes, not _six_," Sirius rambled, and the stag turned his head away from the girl to glare at the fifth year, who merely shrugged.

"Lils, you have to wake up," Remus said just as the stag reluctantly—very reluctantly, Sirius and Remus noted—nudged the redhead with his shoulder.

"Hmm?" she whispered as the stag continued gently nudging the girl. "Oh, Remus, what are you doing here?" Lily asked, surprised to see her friend outside at night. Wait, what was _she_ doing out at night? That was strictly forbidden! she thought to herself, putting her hands behind her to lean on them. To her surprise, she felt something warm and soft, but also a little cakey, behind her. Turning, she remembered what had happened when she saw her bloody top on the stag's back. "Oh no," Lily whispered, getting on her knees.

"What's wrong, Evans?" Sirius asked as Lily pressed down on her shirt, making the stag wince a little more.

"I can't believe I leaned on you like that! You're hurt and I go and just press all my weight on your wound," Lily muttered to the stag, which, if she could see, was practically beaming as she fussed over him. "I'm so sorry," she continued as she folded up her shirt so that it draped cleanly over the wound.

"Trust me, you won't be," Sirius mumbled to himself and James and Remus, whose hearing was enhanced just like their 'animal' counterparts, turned and glared at him. He simply shrugged as Lily unknowingly fussed over James, who had finally stood up on his four legs.

"Lily, he'll be fine, why don't you just leave him," Remus said, knowing full well that if Lily didn't drop it, his friend would be caught for sure. He watched as she slowly, methodically cleaned the wound to the best of her non-magic abilities, having left her wand back in the dorm.

"But that was a spell—it wasn't just some branch or another animal, so to say—and it was—oh my," Lily said, clasping her hand over her mouth as she continued to stare at the magnificent creature in front of her. "It was aimed at me!" she cried and before Remus or Sirius, or even James, could react, she was kneeling on the ground again, but this time her hands were around the stag's neck.

"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered as his best friend stiffened at the girl's touch before relaxing a bit. "Evans, I think you've officially lost it. It's a bloody animal," he said seriously. "Do you honestly believe it could do that?" he added, still looking straight at the girl. Sirius didn't acknowledge the fact that Remus was looking at him in shock and James in anger.

"Well, magical owls seem to know where things are, and so do Thestrals, but they're all still just animals," Lily argued, standing up and holding her head high. She didn't seem to notice the blood caked all over her face and hands.

"Yeah, but they're magical animals, that's just a regular old animal that probably wouldn't be able to string two sentences together," Sirius continued indifferently. That's when Lily stormed up to him and slapped him across the face. She stomped her foot and walked out of the Forest towards the castle, leaving her shirt on the stag's back. The minute that the three were sure that Lily was in the castle, or at least out of hearing range, James transformed, catching the shirt as he straightened up.

"What the bloody hell was that, Black?" James asked angrily, approaching Sirius with an angry look on his face. "_Just a bloody animal_? _Wouldn't be able to string two sentences together_?" he seethed as he came nose to nose with his best mate.

"She wouldn't drop the subject. I figured that the easiest way to get her to drop it was to make her think more about something else," Sirius said, holding his palms out in surrender.

"So it was all an act to get Lily from _hugging_ me?" James asked angrily.

"Prongs, he has a point," Remus said quietly from his spot and the two turned to him.

"I do?" Sirius asked and after a moment, proudly went, "Yeah, I do!"

"If Lily hadn't stopped fussing over you, she might have turned you over to Dumbledore, but then you wouldn't show up for class as Kettleburn took care of the poor, old stag," Remus explained and Sirius nodded fervently.

James gritted his teeth as he turned from Sirius to Remus, before sighing. "I guess you're right," he murmured. "Now, can I get to the Hospital Wing? As great as Lily was, it still aches," James added, lightly touching his sore back.

"Sounds good; we haven't visited Poppy in a while," Sirius shrugged and the three of them headed for the castle.

-&-

"Lily, what's going on?" Emma asked her best friend as she watched her walk into the room. "What are you covered in? Is that _blood_? Merlin, Lily what happened?" the blond started breathing heavily, trying to regain calm.

"Your boyfriend is a rotten twit, that's what," Lily replied simply as she rummaged in her clothes for a new set of pyjamas.

"He didn't hurt you did he?" Emma asked incredulously, shutting Lily's drawer in a rush, almost slamming the girl's fingers.

"No, but he pissed me off," Lily said simply, opening the drawer again and rummaging around. She finally pulled out an almost-identical set of pyjamas to the one that she had been wearing, except that it was a deep green instead of midnight blue.

"How did he do that? And what were you doing outside anyway? It's after curfew and—why were you with Sirius?" Emma asked, suddenly sounding very angry.

"It wasn't just me and Sirius, Em, Remus was there too," Lily said hurriedly, thinking that it would help.

"Sirius _and_ Remus, Lily?" Emma cried and Lily stopped in her tracks.

"No, Em, it's not like that," Lily shouted in realization. "I was outside, walking around the lake—that's where I disappear to sometimes when I get stressed out—and I was walking and out of nowhere this—this _stag_," Lily said the last word as if in awe. "This stag comes and scoops me onto his antlers just before dozens of spells or jinxes or hexes were sent my way—one of them even hit him in the back!" Lily exclaimed.

"How do you know it was a guy stag?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't really know, but when I looked into his eyes, I just...knew, you know?" Lily muttered, almost dreamily, and Emma burst into a fit of laughter. "What?" the redhead asked, unsure if she should be yelling at her friend or yelling for help.

"Do you realize that you sound like a lovesick teenager?" Emma managed to stammer out once she calmed down a little. "For an _animal_," she added before Lily's eyes got that deathly look again.

"That's what made me mad at Black, you know," Lily murmured. "The stag got seriously injured and then I realized that he had helped me and Black goes and treats it like a _joke_, telling me how stupid I was to think that an animal could think or anything," she continued rambling and Emma simply sat on the edge of her bed, listening intently. "But that stag—he definitely knew more than it seemed. I don't know, it was just—magical, I guess," Lily finished. She stared off into space for a second before her eyes widened and she made a move to sit down, barely missing her bed. "I think—I think I'm in love with an _animal_," she said in a worried tone, looking over at Emma. The two girls shared a look before they burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you just said that," Emma howled as they rolled around the floor laughing, thankful that their fellow dorm-mates were friendlier with the sixth year Gryffindors than the two of them. "Do you honestly believe that you're in love with that stag?" she asked as their breathing, though still ragged, and had finally calmed down a little.

"I don't know, Em, I really don't. I mean, I've got that funny feeling in my stomach and I can't stop thinking about those eyes," Lily murmured. "It's just like in the books," she added.

"Except in the books, the guy tends to be, oh, I don't know, _human_," Emma quipped and Lily grabbed a pillow and threw it at the petite blond.

"Shut up, Em, I know they do, but those eyes just made him seem more—human, actually," Lily muttered, nibbling at her bottom lip.

"Well, you're the artist, go draw me that stag, especially those _lovely_ eyes, and let's revel in the love of your life!" Emma laughed and Lily stood up, threw a pillow at Emma, and grabbed her sketch pad.

-&-

"I tell you, Padfoot, Moony, there was just something in her eyes," James mumbled as he rested his head back onto the pillows Madam Pomfrey had fluffed up for him before she headed to bed. The two boys weren't really supposed to be there anymore, but having an invisibility cloak was handy that way.

"Yeah, worry; you were _bleeding_, Prongs, any girl would've melted at that," Sirius said indifferently, messing with the hem of the cloak.

"Padfoot, I'm pretty sure that's not what he meant," Remus said in a tired voice, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, it was almost like she was—entranced with me or something," James said, almost giddily. "_She_ was entranced by _me_," he repeated the mantra over and over again.

"Yes and when you tell her, she'll be absolutely thrilled to know that," Sirius muttered and Remus kicked him in the shin as James lost all colour in his face.

"I can't—no, I can't tell her it was me or—or she'll blast me into oblivion! Then she'll go look it up to see if it's true, and then she'll see we aren't there, so she'll assume the worst: that we're illegal Animaguses, and—and," James stammered as Remus put a Silencing Charm on him.

"Mate, you and Padfoot _are_ illegal Animaguses, so it wouldn't be that far stretch from the truth," Remus said calmly. "And you don't have to tell her until you think she can handle the truth in a nice, calm manner. No one's forcing you to," he finished before Sirius let out a loud snore. Remus rolled his eyes and cast the Silencing Charm on Sirius as well. "Good night, Prongs, Padfoot," he added before walking out.

-&-

"Emma, what's wrong? You look like you're ready to have some sort of fit," Lily asked, looking over her shoulder to see what had her best friend making weird whimpering noises. Her bottom lip, which she chewed when she drew, was very, very sore and very, very red, but that was the least of her worries at the moment.

"The—those eyes," she mumbled, pushing back a strand of stray hair.

"They aren't the eyes of your evil enemy, right?" Lily joked and Emma burst into a fit of laughter. A confused grin grew on Lily's face as Emma tried to calm down, as not to scare her friend. "So, what's wrong?"

"They're not the eyes of _my_ evil enemy, but they're not exactly _your_ friend," Emma explained, still hiccupping from laughter. "Of course, it seems a bit impossible, but it looks horribly like it, minus the doe quality, I suppose," she added quietly.

"Stag, he was a stag," Lily corrected and Emma waved it off.

"It doesn't matter, either way, those eyes look like the same eyes as James Finn Potter," Emma said, making Lily's eyes bug out. Lily opened her mouth to say something just as the door opened to reveal one of the girls in their year, looking a little tipsy.

"Hullo, boys," she hiccupped to the girls before collapsing on the floor. Lily and Emma shared a look before they stood up, Lily shutting her sketch book tightly and placing it on her bed. The two petite girls helped the Quidditch player onto the nearest bed, one of the never-filled ones, Lily said to herself.

"I guess that was our cue for good night," Emma chuckled weakly as Lily still looked out of it. "Lily shouldn't you—?" she started as her best friend slipped under her covers, still wearing her bloody pyjamas. "Good night, Lils," Emma

sighed and she slipped into her own bed, turning the light off with her wand.

-&-

**Author's Note: **And there's chapter eight, Just A Bloody Animal. Oh, and thank you to _fanfictionpie_ and _XJALDX _for the reviews! They made my day!  
-_imagine everything_


	9. SnowFlecked Hair And Shiny Temptations

**Author's Note:** I had this piece sitting in the folder I have for this story for quite a while, just waiting to be added in. So, here is the ninth chapter to _Possibly, Maybe, Definitely_.

**Disclaimer:** Anything familiar isn't mine.

-&-

**Chapter Nine: Snow-Flecked Hair and**** Shiny Temptations**

-&-

"Who _exactly_ are you trying to impress, Lily?" Emma laughed as Lily applied the fifth layer of lip balm on her lips. It was something that the two had picked out over break and was Lily's favourite of all the ones she'd ever owned because it made her lips shiny as well as soft and smooth, not to mention moisturized.

"I'm not trying to impress _anyone_," Lily sighed. "My lips always get chapped when it's wintertime," she explained, putting on another layer. The two were dressed in their usual winter wear of jeans and a sweater, but it was all underneath more layers. The two other layers were mostly there because it had snowed the night before, and was still going on, but only lightly.

"Well, it sure looks like you are," Emma chuckled. "I think I know _one_ someone who'll think so," she added, sending a flirty wink in Lily's direction.

Lily rolled her eyes and capped the lip balm. She put her lips together tightly before she pushed back a strand of long hair. "I am definitely not trying to impress Potter, not after the way he treats Sev," Lily said, sighing as she grabbed her bag and coat and started walking down the stairs.

"Of course you aren't," Emma laughed as she followed suit. "Oh, hey, boys," she smiled nervously at the three boys.

"Hey, Emma," Sirius and Remus grunted from either side of James.

"Well, well, well, Lilykins, aren't you looking…tempting today?" James said smoothly, stepping forward so that he and Lily were a few inches apart. "You aren't just doing this to make me kiss you, are you? Because you know all you have to do is ask," he added, smirking cockily at her.

"You're right, Potter, you've caught me. I was trying to make you want to kiss me because then I can do this," Lily replied, starting off soft and gentle, and ending it fiercely before she slapped him.

"Ouch," Emma giggled and I walked away. "See you guys later," she added softly and hesitantly before following Lily.

"I'm not letting him ruin my day," Lily muttered under her breath as they walked out to the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade.

"Good day, Lily, Emma," Severus said happily as he joined the two after leaving a group of menacing looking Slytherins.

"Hello there, Sev," Lily said cheerily as Emma gave a curt nod; she had always thought Severus a little…odd.

"Shall we?" Severus asked, gesturing to the carriage and the two girls sat down across from each other.

"Mind if we join? Didn't think so," Sirius said cockily as he took the seat next to Emma, whose eyes widened to tea saucers when he did so.

"I thought I should escort you, my dear Lilykins," James said, taking the seat that Severus was about to take next to her.

"I am not _yours_ and don't call me _Lilykins_," Lily told him icily as Remus sat next to James, leaving Severus next to Sirius. Lily started as the carriages started moving.

"Well, that's no way to treat a guest," James mock-scolded and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Oi, Evans, I want to know _why_ you find it more appealing to accompany greasy Snivellus here, rather than a pair of good looking boys such as James and I," Sirius asked and Lily noticed Emma stiffen at his exclusion of Remus. "Honestly, I can't tell _what_ you could see in him, but we all know what everyone sees in you, 'eh?" he continued, sending a wink her way.

Lily narrowed her eyes and glared at him. She opened her mouth to say something when James chortled.

"Sirius!" Emma cried, or more laughed, since she found it amusing the reactions to her boyfriend's comment.

"Now, now, Sirius, you know the rules. She's _my_ Lily," James said smugly and Sirius nodded in acknowledgement.

"How _dare_ you!" Lily and Severus shouted simultaneously as Emma looked at the two with wide, nervous eyes.

"I think you should apologize to Lily," Severus said, pulling out his wand and pointing it at James.

"Oh right, because I'm scared of _you_, Snivellus," James laughed and Lily pulled Severus' wrist away from James only to point her own wand at his neck.

"I don't think it's _him_ you should be scared of, Potter," she said icily just as the carriage jerked and she fell into his lap.

"No, obviously not," he laughed as he held her steady while she regained her composure. Of course, once she did, she slapped him loudly.

"Don't _ever_ try that again," she said angrily as she stormed out of the stopped cart.

"You really know how to make her mad," Emma and Remus sighed as Severus followed Lily.

"I still don't see why she likes Snivellus better than me," James mumbled.

"Isn't it obvious?" Emma and Remus asked him, not even noticing the perfect timing they had.

"That's really creepy, did you know?" Sirius laughed as he slipped his arm around her waist. "Come on, I think Rosmerta has a special booth for us," he added in a slight whisper.

"But I wanted to look around, Sirius," Emma replied, her voice a little whiny, and Sirius shrugged.

"Why not?" he laughed and they exited the carriage.

"How is it obvious, Moony?" James asked as Remus laughed before exiting the carriage. The bespectacled boy sat there for a few moments before exiting as well, determined to make the most of the weekend, even if Lily _was_ confusing him—a lot.

-&-

"Remus, can I speak to you?" Emma asked softly as she approached the blond haired boy, who was sitting by himself under a tree and reading.

"Sure, Em, what's wrong?" Remus replied, closing his book and scooting over so that Emma was able to lean on the tree as well.

"Nothing really, I mean, nothing, I—I don't know, Remus," she whispered, burying her face into her palms.

"What do you mean?" he said hesitantly, lifting her head gently. He opened his mouth to say something when he noticed tears began forming, but no words came out.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything, just—just listen," she murmured and he nodded graciously. "Okay, so I like Sirius and all, but—but I don't _love_ him. I know it doesn't seem like it really matters when you're fifteen, but I've seen the _Prophet_, and this Voldemort character seems like he doesn't care how old you are—if he wants you to die, you die," she rambled.

"Where are you going with this?" Remus asked unsurely and Emma took a deep breath.

"I don't love Sirius, and I just—do you think—I mean, should I break up with him?" Emma finished nervously.

"Em, I know for a fact that Sirius really enjoys your company, but if you think its right, then go ahead," Remus replied, trying to sound indifferent, but practically screaming for joy on the inside.

"So you—you don't have an opinion on this subject?" Emma asked, trying to be calm, but almost falling apart in her head.

"Should I?" he answered, raising an eyebrow and she nibbled on her bottom lip.

"I—I don't know. I mean, you're his best friend and best friends always have opinions of the other's girlfriends, right?" Emma said simply.

"Well, we do, but we tend to restrict them to conversations with the best friend," Remus replied and she nodded slowly.

"Oh—okay, well, um, thanks anyway," she answered, getting up, a look of confusion on her face.

"Emma," Remus said suddenly, standing up just as she turned around. "If it helps any, all three of us approve of you," he added and she smiled weakly before turning back around. "I'm an idiot," he murmured angrily to himself as she walked away.

&

"James Finn Potter, why won't you just leave me alone?" Lily cried as she turned around, her red hair whipping at her face, to yell at the boy.

"Because I'm madly in love with you, Lily Addison Evans, but I thought you already knew that!" James said, laughing as she glared at him. The two had been walking around, well, more Lily had been walking around and James followed her.

"I'm trying to enjoy a nice day out and you're making it impossible," she yelled as a few students stopped in their tracks to see where their yelling would take them.

"No, I am definitely not making it impossible," James said cockily. "I'm just trying to see what makes you tick, but so far, all I can put together is school and, well, _me,_" he added, smirking at her and watching her snow-flecked hair and eyelashes intently.

"You—?" she asked in a hysteric voice before storming over and lifting her hand to slap him.

"Now, now, Evans, let's not make a scene," James said softly as he held her wrist up and pulled her a little closer to him. He gave a small genuine smile as he noticed the shiny temptation in front of him.

Lily's mouth fell in a small 'o' and before she could say anything or struggle against the Quidditch Chaser, his lips hit hers. She hadn't planned for it (although, thinking about it later, she should've seen it coming), so she was unable to react against his soft lips.

"Mm, that's—sweet," James whispered as he pulled away before she could make a proper reaction. "I didn't think you were one for sweet lip glosses, Lily, being a fiery spirit and all," he chuckled as the crowd watched the shocked redhead for her reaction.

"You toe-rag!" she cried, making a move to slap him again. Of course, just like last time, he caught her hand again.

"Now, now, Evans, remember the last time this happened. If you want me to kiss you, just say so," James chuckled, leaning in a little.

"Get off of me, Potter," she spat before grinding her heel into his foot.

"Bloody hell!" James cried, letting go of Lily's wrist and grabbing his foot.

"Blimey, Evans, what did you do?" Sirius asked as he came out of the crowd, Emma, Remus, and Peter following behind them.

"I gave him what he deserved. The bloody prat kissed me," Lily said simply, crossing her arms over her chest as Emma stood by her, holding back a small laugh as the boys tried to help James up.

"What's your bloody foot made of? Steel?" James cried, taking a step towards Lily.

"I don't know, Potter, it's probably the same thing your dense head is made of," Lily told him, knocking on the top of his head.

"My head is not dense!" James yelled and the crowd seemed to tighten around them.

"Oh yeah? Then why is it that every word I ever tell you never gets through to your brain?" Lily asked loudly.

"Have you ever wondered that maybe it's not my head you should be worried about?" James shouted.

"You're right; I should be worried about your bloody brain! It probably can't keep up with daily conversation!" Lily yelled back. "Maybe I should speak slowly next time!" she added, slowing down her speech for extra emphasis.

"My brain is fine, Evans," James replied angrily.

"Really, Potter? What _should_ I be worried about?" Lily asked, taking deep breaths as she and James glared at each other.

"I think it might actually die down this time," Emma said hopefully.

"This," James said and he pulled Lily into another kiss.

"Not likely, Em," Remus chuckled as Sirius whistled.

"Go, Prongsie!" Sirius cried out and the crowd took his lead and cheered on the couple.

Lily, who was again not anticipating the kiss, stood in shock for a second before, to her and everyone else's surprise, she relaxed a little. That is, until Sirius made his little catcall. Then she was back to the present and pulling herself away from James.

"Whoa," James said in shock and Lily narrowed her green eyes before kicking him in the shin. "Bloody—!" he cried out as he clutched his shin, Lily studying him for a second before squatting in front of James' bent over figure.

"Don't you _ever_ try that again, do you understand, Potter?" Lily said icily before she stood up and walked past him.

"Now _tha'_ was a display," a deep voice said from the edge of the crowd as Lily walked through the crowd. The whole crowd turning to see that the very large and very hairy Rubeus Hagrid, the Groundskeeper of Hogwarts, standing above them all, was chuckling to himself.

-&-

**Author's Note:** Okay, so that was just a little random piece of Hagrid there. I got this done quick, but only because the first half was already written—not important though. What _is_ important is what you guys thought about it…(and no, that was _not_ a form of sucking up coughyesitwascough)  
-_imagine everything_


	10. House Arrest

**Author's Note:** Okay, so I wrote this, or the end of it, after watching a really sad episode of _Cold Case_. I'm not sure if that affected the way I would've ended this (I mean, I just wanted them to talk), but it worked out this way and—let me just end my ramble and let you read.

**Disclaimer:** Anything familiar isn't mine.

-&-

**Chapter Ten: House Arrest**

-&-

"Lily, oh Merlin, Lily," Emma cried as she stormed into the dormitory on a cool late November night in their sixth year.

"What is it, Emma?" the Prefect asked her best friend, frantically sitting up on her bed, scattering some of her notes. "Oh, bloody hell," she murmured angrily as she bent down to pick them up.

"I—I made my decision," Emma said happily from her spot in the doorway.

Lily stopped mid-pick up and looked up at her friend. "About—," she said softly as she stood up slowly, some of the notes on the floor and some stuffed haphazardly into her hand.

"Yeah, about that," Emma said, suddenly realizing what she was saying. "Oh no, Merlin no," she practically whimpered. "You—you don't think he'll be mad, do you?" she whispered worriedly.

"Well, I don't know, Em, I mean he _punched _Remus just because he thought that he was who we were talking about when we talked...that night," Lily said, swallowing the lump in her throat as she thought about the night she received the news about her mother's death.

"Yeah, I guess so, but this is what I really want," Emma said softly, nibbling at her bottom lip.

"Em, it's all up to you," Lily told her friend, dropping her notes on the bed and pulling her teary friend into a hug.

"I'm going to go do that now, before I talk myself out of it," the blond replied, turning around and heading for the door. When she had opened the door, she turned to Lily, who smiled and followed.

"Let's go," the redhead sighed as they went down the stairs to the Common Room.

"Sirius," Emma said quietly, coming up to him.

"Yeah?" the black-haired boy asked, standing up.

"I—I need to talk to you," she stammered, grabbing his wrist and taking him over to the corner, making Remus pull his nose out of his book.

"What's going on?" Remus asked Lily as he watched the two talking from his armchair.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Lily murmured tiredly, slipping into the seat Sirius was previously at, next to James.

"Yes, we do—so what's up?" James asked Lily just as the two in the corner started laughing. The burst of laughter made the four of them turn around to see the two laughing their heads off, leaning on each other for support. "You two want to fill us in on what's so funny?" James called to them and they seemed to realize just how loud they were.

Still holding back a bit of laughter, the two of them walked over—Emma sat down on the armrest to Remus' armchair and Sirius made James scoot over towards Lily so that Sirius could sit on the couch.

"Couldn't you have just found another chair, Black?" Lily asked as she felt something brush against her thigh. She looked down to notice James' hand was simply sitting between the two of them. Gingerly, she picked it up and dropped it in his lap before shifting a little, trying to ignore the tingly feeling she kept getting.

James, of course, was very, _very_ aware of Lily's close proximity. Being the brave soldier that he was, he decided to try and not be so aware. "So, what was so funny?" he repeated, trying hard to control his breathing.

"Oh, just what we were talking about before she came down," Sirius shrugged before making his queen attack one of Peter's pawns.

"Wait, so you two were laughing about a _break-up_?" Remus asked in a confused tone.

"Yeah, you see, I wanted to break up with Sirius, so that's why I came down here and then he said he wanted to tell me something too, so we both said it at the same time, and we found that funny," Emma shrugged. "Send your bishop to his rook, Pete," she told the small boy, who nodded and followed her directions. "Checkmate, Sirius," she added simply, and Peter echoed her, leaving Sirius looking outraged and confused.

"So, you two wanted to break up together?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Emma said simply as Sirius studied the board, trying to find out where he went wrong.

"Why did _you_ want to break up with him, Em? I mean, I know Padfoot isn't exactly the most committed man, so why are _you_ breaking up with him?" James asked and Emma exchanged a look with Emma.

"Ewe, gross," Sirius suddenly cried like a five-year-old.

"What's wrong, Padfoot?" Remus asked the sixteen-year-old as he mashed up his face.

"Evans and Reed are in _love_," Sirius said, sounding thoroughly disgusted.

"Padfoot, I highly doubt that," Remus chuckled, moving to put his arms on the armrests, forgetting that Emma was sitting in one, and the two blushed when he accidentally brushed her leg.

"It's not _me_ that Emma's in love with, Black, I promise you that," Lily laughed. "And _no_, that doesn't mean that _I_ love her either," she added, glaring at the open-mouthed boy.

"So why did you two share a look when Prongsie asked about the break up?" Sirius asked us.

"Oh, because Lily's the only one who knows why I wanted to break up with you," Emma started.

"And it's kind of a secret," Lily finished, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She placed her hands at the edge of the couch's cushion and leaned forward to talk to Emma, unaware of the effect her falling hair had on a certain hazel-eyed boy. "How long should we keep it a secret?" she asked in a whisper, gathering all her red hair to the right side of her neck, revealing the small silver chain around her neck.

"I don't know, Lils, a couple of weeks, I guess. That way I don't sound too—you know," Emma replied, shrugging.

"Yeah, that makes sense," she murmured, fiddling with the crystal pendant on the end of the eighteen-inch chain.

"So, two weeks?" Emma asked, sitting up straight again, much to the comfort of a certain Remus Lupin, who was very close to her backside.

"Two weeks," Lily said firmly, leaning back just after James pulled his hand off the cushion. For a few moments, no one really said much, except for Sirius and Peter, who were playing Wizard's chess, and Emma, who had joined them to coach Peter. Remus was reading, Lily was staring at the fire intently, and James was watching Lily quietly, like he always did when she wasn't paying attention.

"I'm hungry," Lily suddenly muttered, shifting a little under James' gaze. She knew he had been watching, and had worked hard not to turn red. Thankfully, she was able to only turn a slight pink since he wasn't really doing or saying anything, just watching her.

"This Evans I can live with," Sirius laughed. "Thinks with her stomach, this one," he chuckled, flipping back his hair to grin at a couple fourth year girls, who simply giggled in reply.

"Dinner's in a few hours," Emma told her, whispering instructions to Peter, who obediently followed.

"But I can't _wait_ for dinner, Em, I'm hungry _now_," Lily whined, getting a childish pout on her face. "Please, please, _please_?" she added, clasping her hands together and giving Emma a begging look.

"Only if the boys put their little competition on pause," Emma said.

"Ha! No way; I may think with my stomach sometimes, but I _love_ a good competition," Sirius laughed, sounding like a barking dog.

"Come on, Evans, Moony and I can take you to the kitchens," James offered and Lily turned to look at him, her eyes not angry or happy, per se, more confused.

"Don't drag me into this; I'd rather just read," Remus said and James shrugged.

"Okay then, _I'll _take you to the kitchens," James corrected and Lily opened her mouth to say that she wasn't hungry anymore when her stomach grumbled.

"Alright, fine," Lily said, sighing deeply. She stood up and straightened up her skirt, and gathered her hair to the side again.

"That hurts, Evans," he chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Seeing as we're all under House arrest," James paused, looking around at the confused faces. "Get it? Like that thing Muggle Aurors do? We're not allowed to leave our _House_ Common Rooms?"

"You mean the policemen, James," Lily said absent-mindedly as she stood impatiently to the side, her arms crossed over her shoulder. "And do you even know the proper definition of a house arrest?" she asked, giving him a small smile.

"No, but it seemed like the appropriate situation," James shrugged.

"Well, it technically was, but no one else here got it," Lily told him and he sighed. "Let's go," she added, heading for the portrait hole until James grabbed her wrist and started pulling her up the boys' dormitories steps.

"Where are we going, Potter? The kitchens are _downstairs_," Lily said simply, rolling her eyes as James left her standing in the middle of the boys' messy dormitory as he rummaged through his trunk. "What exactly are you rummaging in your trunk for?" Lily asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she sniffed something that smelled horrible. "Why does your dormitory smell like wet dog?" she cried, putting her hand to her nose to cover it up.

"Hm, Padfoot must have been taking a bath again," James replied as he pulled out a silky looking cloak.

"Why would it smell like wet dog when Black takes a bath?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

James gave her a weird look before shrugging. "Ask him," he answered, before holding up the cloak.

"That's the invisibility cloak you were wearing that night that the werewolf, Moony, came and almost attacked me," Lily said simply. "Moony..." she added in a small whisper.

The bespectacled boy in front of her watched with slight horror as the wheels in her brain started working.

"Moony...Moony and I can take you to the kitchens...don't drag me into this...Merlin's fuzzy knickers!" Lily cried, looking up in surprise at James, who suddenly put a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"You can't tell anyone, Lily, you _have_ to promise," James whispered hurriedly as Lily simply stared at him in disbelief. "You _have_ to," he continued and, after a moment of silence where they simply looked at each other, she nodded and he removed his hand from her mouth.

"You know, I've known since third year," Lily said matter-of-factly, smirking at James' shocked face. "And I haven't told anyone," she told him. "Not even Emma," she whispered quietly.

"Why not? I thought you told her everything," James asked and she shook her head.

"Not this—it's just a little complicated," Lily replied, shrugging. She was obviously not going to say anything else now.

"Let's head to the kitchens, shall we?" James asked, pointing out the door.

"Okay," Lily said just as a soft swishing sound went around her and she felt James' breath on her neck. She turned her head only to see James' mouth in a small smirk in her direct sight.

"It's easier if we're under here; that way we won't get caught," he explained as her eyes travelled up from his lips to his eyes.

"Oh—okay," she murmured, turning around slowly and trying to make her body as small as possible as James manoeuvred their little party down the stairs and out the portrait hole, but not before Sirius called out a 'Good luck!'

-&-

"So, what's the complication?" James whispered as they were halfway down to the kitchens.

"What?" Lily asked softly, turning her head slightly as they walked down the stairs to the dungeons.

"What's the complication that makes you not have the ability to tell Emma about Remus?" James explained and Lily nibbled on her bottom lip a little.

"Later," she murmured just as they approached the portrait of the fruit bowl. Lily looked around before tickling the pear. She opened the door and slipped in, followed closely by James. Once the reached inside, James whipped off the cloak and Lily's hair flew on her face. "Thanks," she muttered angrily and he smiled sheepishly as she gathered it neatly to one side.

"How did you know how to open the door to the kitchens?" James asked, chuckling as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Emma and I have been here before," Lily shrugged as she looked around.

"Miss Evans, Buckle thought he heard you come," a House-elf said happily, bowing low at her feet.

"Hey, Buckle, what's for dinner tonight?" Lily asked, kneeling down in front of the elf.

"Italian, Miss," Buckle replied, still bowing. "But would Miss prefer something else? Buckle will happily go get something," he continued and Lily chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment.

"_Everything_," she giggled and Buckle nodded. She stood up once the elf disappeared, a happy grin on her face, similar to the one a little kid held at Christmas time.

"So, exactly how many times do you come here?" James asked as they took a seat at the replica of the Gryffindor table.

"At least three times a day," Lily said truthfully. "Usually once before every meal," she added, shrugging.

"Why?" was all James could ask as he watched her eye the cake that Buckle brought over like a child.

"Because this is the only place where I can really pig out, you see," she said simply, picking up her fork. "If this ever leaves your mouth, I swear to Merlin you will never have children," Lily added, glaring at him.

"I swear on Merlin that this will never leave my mouth, then, whatever _this_ is," James chuckled as Buckle put a cake in front of him as well.

"Thank you, Buckle," Lily said happily before she started digging into the pie.

"And I thought Sirius liked food," James chuckled as Lily practically shoved the whole pie into her mouth.

"Oh please, stick Sirius and me into a pie-eating contest and I'd beat him hands down," Lily chuckled as she swallowed her bite.

"Even when while you stuff your face you're neat," James laughed as Lily wiped the little bits of crumb and apple on her face, but there was none on the plate and only minimal amounts on her shirt. Of course, he averted his eyes quickly before she caught him looking at her shirt.

"It's a gift I've honed," Lily shrugged as she continued to maul the pie. "Eat up, James, I hate eating alone," she said after a few moments of him just watching her.

James smirked and attacked his own pie. A few minutes later, the two finished and Buckle came in with two small chocolate cakes. "Does he have 'everything' all planned out?" James chuckled and Lily nodded.

"Yeah, ever since first year," Lily shrugged, taking a small bite of her cake.

"Not going to attack anymore?" James asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, you obviously wanted to talk," Lily said simply, taking another bite of cake.

"I do?" James asked in a surprised tone and Lily nodded.

"You wouldn't have offered otherwise, right?" the redhead wondered, putting her fork down slowly. "Because if it's anything otherwise—," she started, her hand going into her pocket.

"Don't worry, it's nothing like that! Not this time," James said, holding his palms out in surrender.

"Okay, so talk," Lily shrugged, going back to her cake.

"Just like that—you believed me just like that?" asked James, his eyes very, very confused.

"Well, now I know to be warier next time," Lily told him indifferently, putting some cake in her mouth.

"Oh, um, well, I was asking about not telling Emma about Remus," James said cautiously. He waited patiently as Lily's fork stopped on the way to her mouth, and she looked up at him, her green eyes blank. "Lily?"

"It's because—because—I don't know, I told Emma I wouldn't tell anyone," she whispered, nibbling on her bottom lip.

James sat up straighter, fighting the urge to pull her into a kiss. "But you said—its okay," he sighed and she looked up at him, her eyes widened.

"You—you don't care if I tell you or not?" Lily asked, leaning back a little to study the black-haired boy a little more.

"Well, I do, but you promised Emma first, I guess—," he started and Lily broke him off, saying, "Emma likes Remus."

"There, you've heard it," Lily sighed, biting her lip and looking down at her cake.

"Does Miss want some hot chocolate?" Buckle asked and Lily took it gratefully.

"She—she likes Remus?" James shouted incredulously.

"Shh," Lily said, practically jumped across the table to put her hand over his mouth. "No one else knows and you have to promise not to tell anyone," she whispered, looking around the holographic-like figures that represented students that were already in the Great Hall, waiting for dinner to commence.

James looked at her, his hazel eyes torn.

"You want to tell Sirius, don't you?" Lily sighed, sitting back down.

"And Remus, of course," James added, trying to help his situation.

"If she finds out that they know—I don't know, James, I just can't," she whispered, pulling out her wand and standing up.

"What are you doing?" James asked, eyeing her wand warily as he stood up as well.

"A simple Memory Charm to help you forget that little nugget of information," Lily said, her voice wavering as she pointed her wand at him.

"What? So I'll lose a minute of my life?" James asked.

"Don't worry, you'll probably find some way to make up for it," Lily replied, licking her lips as she prepared to do the charm. "_Oblivi_—," she started as James did the only thing he could think of: he pulled her towards him and kissed her. Lily was surprised by this and pushed him away, tumbling backwards. With her feet stuck under the table, she simply fell on her butt onto the floor while her feet stayed under the table, albeit higher than they usually were.

"I'm so sorry, Lily, I just—I don't want to lost a minute of my life," James said, crossing over to her side of the table. He bent down to help her up. "Especially not a minute I spent with you," he added quietly, holding out a hand for her to hold onto.

"What—thanks—I," Lily stammered, her whole brain feeling fuzzy as he helped her up. She turned to see the black-haired boy and her hand lifted in an immediate response.

"Lily, calm down," James said, grabbing her wrist. "Don't hit me, um, talk about it," he continued lamely, trying to figure out what to say next.

"_Talk_ about it? Talk about _it_? You kiss me and you want me to _talk about it_?" Lily cried, throwing her hand down and out of his grip.

"Um, well," James muttered.

"I can't believe you have the _gall_ to go do that! Nothing like that, eh, Potter? Where do you get off saying that? Oh no, I won't make a move on you, Lily! Not this time, at least! I trusted you not to either! Well, look where that got me! Why don't you just go find some floozy to snog and leave me the hell alone?" she cried, few, and silent tears coursing down her cheeks.

"Lily—," James said softly, helplessly, reaching out for her.

"Leave me the bloody hell alone, Potter!" Lily yelled, stepping backwards, and James did the same, more in shock than in anger.

"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, if you two will accompany me to my office," Dumbledore's voice said from the door of the kitchen.

"Professor," Lily cried out, wiping at the tears on her face. "I'm sorry—I should control my volume—I," Lily started and Dumbledore shook his head.

"This isn't about that, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said softly. "Unfortunately, it's much, _much_ more serious than your argument with Mr. Potter," he continued, gazing at her sadly through his half-moon spectacles. "The news pertains to you as well, Mr. Potter," the old man added before turning around.

Lily watched the man for a second before James nudged her elbow and she jumped.

"Come on, Lily, he said to follow him," James murmured and she nodded, but didn't move from her spot. She was too busy thinking about what news Dumbledore could possibly have and didn't even notice that James had started ushering her forward, her feet simply going in rhythm with his.

-&-

**Author's Note: **So, what did you guys think? Let me know in a review, please?  
-_imagine everything_


	11. WeekOld Pudding

**Author's Note:** Okay, I think the last part is just a little filler, but anyway, here's chapter eleven. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **Anything familiar belongs to Jo.

-&-

**Chapter Eleven: Week-Old Pudding**

-&-

"Lily?" James asked in a quiet whisper as they followed Dumbledore to the office.

"What, Potter?" she replied as icily as she could in her situation. Really, though, she couldn't figure out what he would need her _and_ James for, so she was in the midst of trying to figure it out.

"I'm s—sorry," he stuttered, closing his eyes and anticipating her reaction. When there was none, she noticed that she was simply looking ahead of her, a glazed look in her emerald eyes. "Li—," James started just as Dumbledore stopped them in their paths. That's when the boy noticed that Dumbledore didn't have the usual amused gleam it always did.

"Cotton candy," Dumbledore said in his deep voice to the gargoyle. The gargoyle jumped aside, and Lily suddenly laughed. The two males turned to her as she clutched her side and continued laughing.

_What a laugh she has_, James thought happily, a small smile escaping his lips.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I—I tend to laugh at the worst times," Lily explained, blushing like mad, when she calmed down.

"It's good to be able to laugh at a time of distress; of course, there are times when that is deathly inappropriate," Dumbledore replied solemnly, looking off into a space for a second before James cleared his throat. "Yes, yes, come along," he said, shuffling swiftly up the stairs. Lily and James quietly followed him up the stairs, neither saying a word to each other as they drowned in their own reveries.

_I don't know what I did to her—ever since that game in the third year, she's been trying to make me leave her alone. She doesn't even hand me my Christmas presents in person anymore._

_Ugh, he's so insufferable! This is why I walked out on him during the game in third—is that Emma? What's she doing here?_ Lily's last thoughts came to her as she noticed her friend's blond curls seeming limper than usual.

"Albus, I got the news while I was in my office," McGonagall said simply, handing a letter to Dumbledore, who read it silently before shaking his head.

"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, please take a seat," Dumbledore said absent-mindedly, sitting in his own seats and waving his wand to conjure up a couple chairs. "The news I'm about to deliver to you isn't any better than Miss Reed's, in a sense," the old man continued, and Emma gasped. "Now, I'm sure the two of you are well aware of the acquaintance of your grandmothers?" he asked, looking from Lily to James.

"Since our third year, they've been inseparable," Lily said for the sake of talking.

"Yes, well, yesterday, the two were spending the day together at the Potters' home," Dumbledore started and James started shaking his head, muttering 'no, no' under his breath. "And Death Eaters attacked them," he finished, bowing his head as Lily's eyes widened and her breathing became ragged. "Like the reports say, if Voldemort wants you dead, well, there is no escaping your fate," he sighed and Lily finally broke down into tears.

"Oh, Lily," Emma muttered and she pulled her best friend into a hug. The moment they were in each other's grip, they both started crying silent tears.

"Sir, have my parents been notified?" James said his voice stronger than he felt.

"They have, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore continued. "Now, if the three of you will excuse me, I have some, ah, business to take care of," he added, opening the door for them.

"Thank—thank you, Professor," Emma hiccupped as she and Lily simply walked out of the office, Lily not saying or really doing anything anymore out of shock.

"Professor, what's going to happen now?" James asked solemnly, walking up to the Head's desk. The question made Lily stop mid-stride and turn around, watching the professor for an answer.

""What do you mean, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked, standing by Dumbledore's desk.

"I mean—well, I suppose I don't really know—I'm just," James sighed. "Never mind; thanks," he added, walking past the girls, his head lowered a little.

"James," Lily whispered as Emma ushered her out the door. What were they supposed to do now?

-&-

"Prongs, what happened? Did something happen between you and Lily?" Sirius asked James as the boy walked into the boys' dorm, his head hung low and holding back tears.

"No, not Lily," James said quietly and sullenly, slipping out of his robes, leaving himself in his boxers.

"Who—," Remus started and James simply fell into his bed, throwing the covers over his head.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay, guys?" James muttered into his pillow and the two of them shrugged and Peter made this loud snoring noise.

"Okay, Prongs, but we expect you to say something tomorrow," Sirius said in a firm tone before heading to his own bed.

"Padfoot's right—you can't just mope around without telling us what it's about," Remus added, giving out a long yawn before slipping into his own bed.

"Argh," James muttered angrily as he listened to the room around him sleep. After a few more minutes, when he started hearing all his friends in their nightly noises, he shouted into his pillow. "This is the worst night ever," he groaned, burying his face into his pillow.

"Same here," a soft voice said from the foot of his bed, making him jump. "Ouch," the voice cried out softly as James heard a thump on the floor.

"Evans? What are you doing here?" James asked, jumping out of his bed and walking over to her side. He squatted down so that his face was level with hers as she sat up.

"What did I trip on?" she asked him absent-mindedly, picking up the offending object off the floor. "Ewe," she squeaked as she threw one of Sirius' dirty clothes to the side. "That was disgusting," Lily continued, shuddering a little.

James opened his mouth to say something, and then made a disgusted face.

"What's with the face?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow at James, who suddenly stood up and held out his hand. She took his hand and pushed herself up. "So, what's with the face?" she repeated, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, it's, um," James found himself speechless for a second as Lily nibbled a little on the corner of her lip and looked up at him with her innocent-like, green eyes. "Hold on," he finally said after a few seconds of just staring at her. James walked over to his trunk and bent down, giving Lily a nice view of his back.

"What are you rummaging in your trunk for?" she asked, taking a few, quiet steps towards him.

"This," James replied as he suddenly stood up and turned around. Without the warning, the two bumped heads and Lily put a hand in front of her so she could steady herself.

"For, um, what?" Lily asked, stepping back as she realized just how warm James' skin felt under her fingertips.

"Just a temporary substitute for your pyjamas," he said, nodding at her maroon silk-like sleepwear. James knew she'd find out about the pudding soon enough, and knowing her, she didn't have her wand on her to clean it.

"Why would I need a temporary—?" she started to ask, putting her hands on her hips. That's when she felt something sticky and gooey in between her slender fingers. "What is—oh my—," Lily began to scream before James put a hand to her mouth.

"Calm down, it's just some week-old pudding," James shrugged indifferently, and Lily's eyes widened. "Okay, so yeah, it is gross, but you can't scream. If you wake everyone up, well, think about what that'll do," he added, and then he stepped back. "Speaking of which, what are you doing here?"

"I was—," Lily started, and she finished it with a mumble

"You were _what_?" James asked, unsure what she was trying to say.

"I was hungry, alright? Hunger and trauma and midnight jitters just make me do crazy things and, I don't know, I thought you might be able to help me," Lily explained, suddenly finding her fidgeting fingers very interesting. "Look, I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll just head back to my dorm," she sighed after he didn't respond for a few seconds.

"No, no, I'll help, it's just a—shock, I guess, that _you're _asking _me_ for help, that's all," James said simply, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh, right, I just—I don't know, like I said, crazy things," Lily muttered, pushing back a strand of hair.

"Yeah, alright, but why don't you go ahead and change into this—I don't think you want to walk around with Padfo—Sirius' week-old pudding on your, um, lower area," James said unsurely, holding out a pair of his shorts and an old Quidditch jersey from the Montrose Magpies.

"You _can_ say butt, you know? Also, I know all about your secret, _Prongs_," Lily replied knowingly, taking a step towards him before taking the clothes. "And thanks," she added as she closed the door on a shocked looking James.

"The secret? What—what does she know about the secret?" James muttered to himself, leaning back onto his trunk. "Which secret does she know?" he asked quietly to the room, leaning his head back as far as it would go and closing his eyes. "The one about the three Marauders or Moony—or even both," he continued absently. "How did she figure it out? Did she spy on us? Or did she just figure it out?"

"I'd go with the second one," Lily chuckled and he jumped up, hitting his hand on the trunk. She had her clothes in a small bundle under her arm.

"Merlin's fuzzy knickers!" he said quietly, tensing as he tried to keep from screaming.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad," Lily laughed quietly, rolling his eyes as he continued to nurse his hand. "Let me see that," she sighed and grabbed his hand from him. After a few minutes of running her fingers over his hand and studying it, she dropped it again. "You'll be fine. Now, will you help me or not?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, not in an accusatory way, but more a curious-questioning kind of way.

"Of course, Lilyki—yeah," he shrugged and she walked over to the door.

"Okay, let me just change into my own pyjamas so I can give you back these," she added, opening the door.

"Don't worry about it—you just go dump off your pudding pants," James said, smiling at his own lame joke.

"Actually, do you mind if I just leave it here? I mean, I don't think it'll leave much of a...mark," Lily replied slowly, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the room.

"Go ahead, just leave it by the door," James shrugged, shaking out the folded Invisibility Cloak. "You do realize that this'll be the second time we're sneaking out of the Common Room together, right? Think about how this looks to the student body," he added, smirking as he held the Cloak up high, ready to drape it around them.

"Honestly, I don't care right now. I've only had a pie and half a cake for dinner, and completely skipped the healthy part of dinner itself, so there," Lily said, pouting and crossing her arms over her chest. "_Please_, James?" she added, just as her stomach growled.

"Is that thing trained to know when to prove a point or something?" James laughed just before he covered them in the Cloak.

"Thanks," Lily replied happily, smiling. She didn't know why she was even talking to him in the first place—actually, she was completely clueless to the goings-on in the past few days. "Um, James," she added, closing the door a little before they could leave. A few moments under the Cloak with James in his—state—was all she could take in her own, confused state.

"What?" James asked, coming out of some sort of reverie.

"If we do get caught, I don't think you being half-naked would help our case any," Lily joked and he nodded, slipping out of the Invisibility Cloak smoothly and walking over to his trunk. Grabbing a Puddlemere United Quidditch jersey, he slid it on and rejoined Lily under the Cloak.

"Anything else?" he chuckled and she shook her head as her stomach grumbled. "Let's go before the whole school, and China, can hear that thing," James sighed and they descended down the stairs. When they were on the last few steps, he slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her back, putting a hand over her mouth, knowing that she was ready to scream. After a few minutes of being in that position, one of the fifth years practically skipped up the steps, and Lily noticed one of the other Prefects gliding up the girls' dormitory steps. Once the pair heard the doors to the respective dorms shut, James let go of Lily and she stepped as far away from him as she could.

"Amazing, who would've thought?" she chuckled and James shook his head. "What?"

"Authority sticks with authority," James explained and, when she raised a confused eyebrow at her, shook his head again. "I'll tell you when we're down in the kitchens again," he sighed and Lily was about to protest when her stomach grumbled.

-&-

"Miss Evans? Mr. Potter?" a small voice asked as the two slowly woke up. "Buckle wishes to use the tables for breakfast," the voice continued and Lily bolted upright.

"_Breakfast_?" she cried, running a frantic hand through her hair.

"What's the big deal, Lily?" James asked as he slowly sat up.

"Don't _Lily_ me, Potter, its breakfast. Morning—meaning that there are people out there," Lily shouted and James raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's your point, Evans?" he asked, wondering exactly _what_ was wrong. James didn't see anything wrong with them accidentally falling asleep in the kitchens. At least they were closer to the Great Hall than their fellow Gryffindors.

"I'm in _your_ clothes," she said simply, angrily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sure Buckle has a uniform you could just borrow," James shrugged. "For, um, both of us," he added, ruffling his hair.

Lily took a deep breath to keep from shouting and turned to the House-elf. "Do you, Buckle?" she asked nervously and the House-elf happily nodded.

"When Buckle sees Miss Evans and Mr. Potter sleeping in kitchens, he took uniforms from their dorms," Buckle replied cheerily and Lily sighed.

"Thank you so much, Buckle!" Lily sighed, kneeling down and hugging the elf, who only chuckled nervously. "You're a life saviour," she added as he snapped his fingers and two sets of uniforms popped on the table.

"Thanks, Buckle," James said quietly, picking up his set. With that, he unfolded the trousers and slipped them over his boxers.

"Um, Buckle; is there somewhere I can change?" Lily asked the elf.

"Only in the bathrooms in the halls, miss," Buckle replied sheepishly and she nodded before he walked back to the kitchen to help make breakfast.

"I never understood why girls were always so self-conscious," James chuckled and Lily turned to glare at him, but she suddenly found herself feeling warmer in her face when she saw James' very well-formed torso. "And, yeah, Lily, that _was_ a dare," he added, smirking confidently, and she narrowed her eyes at him before dropping her uniform on the bench.

"The thing is, _Potter_," she said, obviously a little peeved at him, but slipping off the shorts. "We just don't feel like parading around without clothes on," she added as she let the Montrose Magpies shirt hang around her.

"That's a riot. Obviously you're a different breed of girl from everyone else," he laughed, slipping on his button-down shirt.

"Obviously," she said simply, slipping on her skirt. "Then again, I'll only have to take your word for it. I've never really had an in-depth conversation with a floozy about it," Lily finished, with a small smile on her face. She had slipped on her socks and shoes, but was not faced with a small dilemma.

"I'll turn around," James said, sitting down with his back to her.

"Maybe you're not so bad after all," she whispered as she tugged at the collar of the shirt.

"Wait, what did you just say?" James asked, turning his head around to be faced with the small bit of Lily's stomach that was showing between the hem of the lifted shirt and her skirt.

"Turn around, Potter," Lily sighed and he did so. With that, she tugged the rest of the shirt off and put on her button-down. "Thank you, Buckle," she said with a final resolve and headed for the door.

"Oh, so no thanks for me?" James joked as he caught up with her.

"I suppose you do deserve some thanks," Lily sighed, as if it was too hard for her to say so.

"You're not funny," he snorted, and she simply flipped her hair in his face, giving him full front smell of the caramel scented shampoo she had used last night.

"Really, though, thank you, Potter," she added, before pointing a finger at him. "If word of this _ever_ reaches anyone's ears, I'll hex yours off, do you understand, Potter?" Lily said threateningly, narrowing her green eyes.

"Yes, ma'am," James said, nodding fervently. _Merlin, she's crazy, _he thought to himself as she stormed off. _But I—I love her,_ he added to himself, smiling proudly as he watched her red hair swing slightly as she tried to put it up in a ponytail.

-&-

**Author's Note:** Thanks to _fanfictionpie_ and _Katie_ for the reviews.  
-_imagine everything_


	12. The Complication

**Author's Note: **I figured that I had strayed from the other Marauders and Emma for a while. So they're back. Enjoy chapter 12!

**Disclaimer:** Anything familiar doesn't belong to me.

-&-

**Chapter Twelve: The Complication**

-&-

"Remmy," Emma sighed as she sat next to the boy at breakfast that same morning she woke up to find Lily's bed empty and made.

"What is it, Emma?" Remus asked, barely looking up from his book as he drank from his pumpkin juice.

"What I want to say won't work unless you look at me, Remmy," Emma replied, releasing a deep sigh.

"You know, you're the only one that I'm not strangling for calling me—,"Remus said, looking up. He was interrupted in the middle of his sentence when Emma put her lips on his. "Remmy," he muttered quietly once they pulled away.

"Yeah, I kind of noticed," Emma whispered sheepishly, turning beet red as she stared down at her breakfast.

"Em," Remus muttered, making a move to turn her head around, but Sirius suddenly burst through the doors.

"Guys, you won't believe what I saw," Sirius said excitedly and the two turned red before Remus finally asked, "What?" Sirius' only reply was looking down to the doors, where a certain fiery red-head and a bespectacled Chaser were walking through.

"Are they—_not_ yelling at each other?" Emma asked, coming out of her nervous state and entering shock.

"Mm-hmm," Remus said in a shocked tone. "I don't think I can believe it," he chuckled, leaning back a little, his arm bumping into Emma's, making her blush a little.

"Hey, guys," Lily said simply, slipping into the seat next to Emma. "What's up?" she asked, glancing at Emma, who blushed.

"Oh, um, nothing much," Emma stammered, fiddling with a lock of hair as James sidled into the seat next to Sirius.

"Yeah, what she said," Remus replied, turning a slight pink as he returned to his book.

"Sure, I'll believe that," Lily chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Want to confirm their 'nothing much,' Black?" she asked, turning to Sirius.

"You pain me, Evans. But if anything happened, I wasn't here. I got here a few seconds before you two did," Sirius shrugged, digging into his breakfast.

"Lily, are you sick?" Emma asked a few minutes later when she realized that her friend hadn't touched her breakfast.

"What? No, I'm not," Lily said absently as she looked up at her best friend. "What am I not again?"

"Sick," Emma asked, laughing heartily at her friend's confusion. "What's wrong? I've never known you _not_ to eat at any meal," she added, putting a hand on Lily's forehead. "You don't have a fever," she sighed, putting down her hand.

"Maybe it's some sort of virus," Remus suggested and Emma nodded.

"Well, whatever it is, I think Prongsie here caught it too," Sirius said loudly, trying to get James' attention, although it was given undivided to the cereal in front of him.

"Potter, wake up," Emma said in her best imitation of Lily.

"I do not sound like that," Lily told her angrily, shoving her towards Remus.

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do—ouch!" Emma cried as an owl clasped itself onto her hand as it held out a later. "That bloody hurt!" she yelled as she shook her arm.

"Oh, calm down, Em. Let me—owe! Bloody hell what was that—?" Lily shouted as an owl clasped onto her arm as well. "Someone should cut these owls' nails or something," she muttered angrily as she caressed her hand.

"Well, wouldn't you know? They're both from your dad," Emma said quietly, her stomach sinking. She had only learned yesterday that her mum, her last parent, was—no, it couldn't be. The blond had thought that everyone was just joking. Especially when nothing had happened after McGonagall had told her and—no, no, no. She bit her lip, trying to keep from crying.

"Em?" the whole group asked, even Peter, who had fallen asleep on his oatmeal earlier. The girl looked up at them with tears welling up in her eyes.

"I thought they were joking—just so I would be, you know, braver and stuff, but they weren't—were they?" the blond asked the group, silent tears flowing down her face.

"Come on, Em," Lily whispered, standing up and pulling her friend up with her.

"I'll come with you," Remus said solemnly, taking Emma's other side and following quietly. The Great Hall had quieted down when the two girls had screamed, and now they watched with interest for something to happen.

"_Alright, break it up! Nothing to see here!_" James and Sirius started shouting as they followed the threesome, with Peter scurrying behind them. With their shouts, the Hall went back to talking amongst them. Of course, the teachers all simply looked on after the group—each with their own thoughts on the sudden...friendliness of the group.

The group finally reached the Common Room where Lily and Remus slowly sat Emma down in one of the maroon armchairs. Lily sat down helplessly at the end of the large couch and crossed her arms over the armrest, pressing her cheek against them. Remus placed himself on the armrest of Emma's chair and let her lean on him while James sat down next to Lily and Sirius sat on the armchair across from Emma. Peter placed himself on the floor in front of the fire, leaning on the coffee table, and just staring at the fire.

"I can't believe that they weren't joking," Emma whispered, digging her face into her palms.

"It'll be alright, Em," Remus said encouragingly, putting an arm around her.

"Um, I hate to be a wet blanket, but, um, you two still have letters from the Evans," James whispered, holding out their letters.

"I wonder what it's about," Emma murmured, reaching out for hers.

"Here," Remus said, taking it with his long arms and handing it to Emma, who took it gratefully.

"Maybe they'll tell us that it was all a joke," Lily replied hopefully, staring at her envelope. "I don't know if I can open it," she sighed, shaking her head with closed eyes.

"Yeah, you can. Come on, Evans, I want to know what's up," Sirius said bluntly and the whole group glared at him. "Sorry, I'm just curious," he shrugged, sinking into his chair again. After his outburst, Emma and Lily took deep breaths and slipped their envelopes open. After a few minutes, Emma broke into a small smile.

"What is it?" Remus asked quietly, trying hard not to read over her shoulder

Emma gave a small chuckle and handed him the letter. "He said that if it's okay with Lily, I could live with them," Emma explained, turning to Lily, who seemed to lose some colour in her face.

"What? Of course it's okay for you to stay with me. It's almost like we're sisters anyway," Lily said, giving a small, weak smile. She slowly crumpled up her own letter and stuck it underneath her thigh, hoping that no one had noticed. "Look, I'm going to go for a walk. I'll, um, talk to you guys later," she mumbled hesitantly, getting up and taking the paper with her.

"Oh—okay," Emma muttered unsurely, watching after her best friend. "Something's up—something she's not telling," she continued, biting her lip as she watched her friend worriedly. "I'm going after her," she added, standing up quickly and knocking Remus off balance. He teetered on the chair for a while, but then he could feel himself tumble and grasped around for anything to hold onto. Remus finally grabbed something—Emma's sleeve.

"Oof," he said, getting the breath knocked out of him as he fell backwards and Emma slammed down on top of his chest.

"Sorry, Remmy," she whispered nervously, standing up quickly.

"No—no problem," Remus stuttered.

"Will you two just make out and get over it?" Sirius asked as he conjured up a Wizard's Chess set and board on the coffee table. "That way, Remus can _finally_ concentrate on the game," he added, gesturing to the board.

"We could always do it your way and stick them in a broom closet together," James laughed as the two blushed profusely.

"You two are such...guys," Emma huffed before walking out the Common Room.

"Thanks, Padfoot; thanks Prongs," Remus sighed, sitting himself on the other end of the board.

-&-

"Merlin, Buckle, I don't know why I can't be the Gryffindor that I am," Emma sighed as she ranted to the elf, who continued to place her favourite foods in front of her.

"Buckle wishes he could help Miss Emma," the elf said quietly, placing a mango-pineapple drink in front of the blond. "But Buckle is not allowed to leave the kitchen because it is no Buckle's place, miss," Buckle added as he handed the girl a fork.

"Thanks for that, Buckle. All I need is a good friend right now," Emma sighed and someone cleared their throat behind her. She jumped and turned around to see a certain blond-haired boy behind her. "Remmy, um, hey," she stuttered as the sight registered in her mind.

"Hey, Em, I heard you needed a friend," he replied nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he sidled into the seat across from her.

"Haha, yeah," she muttered when she realized that he had grown taller and that his knees brushed hers a little, sending tingles down her spine.

"So, what's on your mind?" Remus asked, holding his hands to mimic that of Dumbledore's whenever he was in a meeting and pondering something.

Emma chuckled at the sight. "Well, Professor Dumbledore, you see, there's this boy," she started, almost forgetting who she was really talking to.

"Oh, go on," Remus replied, leaning in a little and looking a little downcast.

"Yes, well, this boy—I really like him, but I'm a little too shy to tell him myself," Emma whispered as she and Remus were practically nose to nose.

"Really?" he asked her and she nodded slowly.

"Really," she answered quietly as they stared each other in the eye.

"Does this, um, boy have a name?" Remus asked and she gave him a small smile.

"Of course—I just don't feel like telling you," Emma whispered in reply and Remus almost pulled away when Emma grabbed the back of his head and put her lips on his. After a few moments, they pulled away and Remus simply stared at Emma, who wasn't hiding her face this time. "I—I've been trying to say that for the past six years, Remmy, I just—I just didn't know how. At breakfast, I thought I was brave enough to confront it, but I only had half the courage I hoped for, but now, I have all of it and I'm coming out with it," Emma said, taking a deep breath at the end.

"Emma," Remus said quietly, cupping her face in his hands. "I—I like you too, it's just—I, well, I can't. It's complicated, but I can't," he finally whispered, letting go of her warm face and slumping in his seat.

"What are you talking about? Are you already engaged to be married to some girl from some friend of the family's family?" Emma asked, staring at the boy incredulously.

"No," Remus whispered in reply.

"So what's the problem? I don't see how that could be so complicated," Emma cried, standing up.

"Emma, you just don't understand," Remus replied, standing up as well.

"Forgive the cliché, but how could I if you won't even explain it to me?" Emma said, looking torn between anger and sadness.

"I—you would hate me if I told you," Remus whispered dejectedly, looking down at his shoes.

"How do you know that?" she answered angrily, biting back tears. "You know what, Remus? I don't even care anymore—good luck with your complication," she sighed after a moment of silence before storming out of the kitchen.

"What have I done?" Remus asked no one in particular as he buried his face in his palms.

-&-

"Lily, you don't understand—he was just being _argh_!" Emma cried as she complained to her best friend about her most recent adventure.

"Well, if you calmed down and gave me details, I would understand this faster and we could get to studying for exams," Lily sighed, rolling her eyes as the blond paced the dorm room.

"The exams aren't for another month," Emma replied matter-of-factly, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared incredulously at her friend.

"I know, but—you already know the answer to that. Now tell me about this conflict with Remus," Lily sighed, burying her face in her palms as she did so. She got a little frustrated with her friend when she seemed so out of it, sometimes.

"Okay, so I was muttering to Buckle and he showed up, and I was telling him about a boy, and then I said that I didn't want to tell him the boy's name, because I was too chicken, but then he looked dejected so I told him that I didn't want to tell him. After that, I pulled him into a kiss—," Emma rambled.

"You kissed him?" Lily cried, looking at her friend both happily and incredulously.

"Yeah, I know, I thought it would be awesome too, but he proved me wrong. When we finally pulled away, he told me that he couldn't because it was complicated, and I told him to tell me about it and he said I would hate him if he told me what was the complica—Lily, what do you know?" Emma asked, seeing her friend's face turn from happy to confused to pensive.

"Em, I think I know what the complication is, but—I promised I wouldn't tell," Lily whispered and Emma shouted angrily at the ceiling.

"Why can't this world just be up front with it? Why does it need _secrets_?" Emma cried, giving Lily a sad look.

"I—I don't know, Em," Lily whispered.

"Please tell me that you have no secrets like that from me, Lils," Emma muttered in reply and her friend looked up at her in silence for a second.

"Well, it's nothing like Remus', but, um," Lily stuttered.

"What? Just tell me, Lily," Emma said firmly.

"I think I don't hate Potter."

-&-

**Author's Note:** So what did you guys think? And thanks to _fanfictionpie_ and _JJ-000-JJ_ for the reviews. They were very much appreciated.  
-_imagine everything_


	13. Remmy, What Are YouTrying to Say?

**Author's Note:** I don't really have much to say...oh, also...Kathy, "JKR stated that he was a Chaser in the second Scholastic interview" –. That is all—enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Nothing familiar is mine.

-&-

**Chapter Thirteen: Remmy, What Are You Trying To Say?**

-&-

"You _what_?" Emma cried, staring at her best friend incredulously. She stopped pacing their dorm and stood in one spot, staring at the redhead as if she had just grown another head.

"I—I don't think I hate Potter—at least, not as much as I thought, I guess—I'm not really sure," Lily stuttered, trying to find the right words.

"You—you—what brought that on?" Emma asked, taking deep breaths as she sat down on her trunk and leaned on her bed.

"I—well, last night—," Lily started and Emma jumped up.

"Please tell me nothing happened!" the blond cried and Lily made a face.

"No, nothing like that, Em—I said I don't hate him, not that I like him _like him_," Lily said, crinkling up her nose.

"Okay, sorry, keep going," Emma shrugged, sitting back down.

"Alright, so last night we got that information about my grandma, right?" Lily asked and waited for her friend to nod before she continued. "I skipped dinner, as you know, and so I was hungry, but I didn't want to go down to the kitchens and get caught," the redhead continued, taking a deep breath. "So I went to Potter for help," she added, letting go of her breath.

"Call him James like everyone else—you know you do sometimes," Emma suggested and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I went to James for help because he was able to sneak me out last time I wanted something from the kitchens. Albeit it didn't end well, but I was sneaked out," she continued, nibbling at her lip. "So, I went up to the boys' dorm and I sat in some of Sirius' old pudding—," Lily said hesitantly.

"Ewe, _old pudding_—that's gross, um, how old _exactly _was the pudding, Lily?" Emma asked, making a disgusted face.

"I think James said it was a week old," she replied absently. "Anyway, so I sat in some old pudding and I had to change, but he apparently would hear nothing of me walking all the way back to the dorm to change, so he gave me a set of his clothes to change into. And then he helped me sneak out and we just, you know, talked," Lily muttered, burying her face in her hands at the end of her little story. "Merlin's fuzzy knickers, what's going on?" she asked her friend. The whole not-hating-James-Potter feeling was new to Lily and she didn't like it one bit. She stood up and started pacing the room, just as her friend had a few moments ago.

"Merlin's fuzzy jumper, Lily, I don't know what's going on, but you're right. You definitely don't hate James anymore," Emma chuckled and Lily fell back onto her bed, groaning angrily before throwing her pillow over her head. "Lily," the blond whispered just as Lily screamed into her pillow. "Merlin's fuzzy socks, Lils, do you really have to scream?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Do you think Merlin really owned all those fuzzy things? It seems so, I don't know, more like Dumbledore's doing," Lily muttered after she removed the pillow from her face and simply stared at the canopy over her head.

-&-

"Merlin's fuzzy knickers, Moony, why don't you just tell her, be upfront about it and stuff," James asked his best friend as the blond boy paced the dorm room floor—or what he could without tripping or getting covered in something.

"Yeah, be upfront about it like Prongs and I are. Just tell the girl what you want," Sirius added suggestively and James threw a school robe at him. "Not my fault you're not getting any action from Evans," he shrugged and dodged a pair of boxers that James randomly picked up.

"Look, Moony, if you really like Em, just trust her. And if she likes you as much as you like her, then she should be okay with..._your furry, little problem,_" James said, whispering the last part.

"So why don't you tell Evans about your Animagus form, Prongs?" Sirius chuckled, lying down on his bed as James chucked another article of clothing at him.

"You two don't understand, do you? My secret isn't like yours—I can't change it at will. I become this—this _monster_ every full moon. Do you really think I want that?" Remus cried and James and Sirius looked at their best friend worriedly as they noticed tears welling up in his eyes.

"I don't think you do, Lupin, but keeping it all bottled up doesn't help," Lily's voice sighed and all three of them jumped (Peter was nowhere to be found at the moment).

"Evans! What are you doing here?" Sirius shouted, sitting up just as Remus turned around in shock.

"Lily, we were just, um, talking about, um," Remus muttered unsurely as James smirked.

"Unless you're really a girl in disguise, I doubt there's any other reason for you to turn into this so-called monster each month—especially around the full moon," Lily said, looking around the dorm before simply leaning on the doorway. "But, trust me, Emma will hate you more if she finds out from someone else about your, what did you call it—oh yes—your 'furry, little problem,'" the redhead told Remus. By the end of that, she turned around and walked out of the room.

"That Evans girl is really weird sometimes," Sirius muttered before flying back down onto his pillow. "Has anyone seen Wormtail?" he suddenly asked and the two boys shook their head—both still thinking about the redhead's visit.

-&-

"Did you just come down from the boys' dorm?" Emma asked as she came down from the girls' dorm stairs at the same time that Lily came down from the opposite ones.

"What? Oh yeah, I was just—yeah," Lily said unsurely, running a hand through her hair. "What are you up to doing today?" she asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from its current topic.

"Don't you have to study?" Emma asked. "You were just going on about it," she added, reminding the confused looking Lily, who nodded fervently as she realized what her friend was going on about.

"Of course, but if you want to do something else, I'm alright with—," Lily started just as someone cried out Emma's name from behind her.

"Emma, I, um, need to talk to you," Remus panted as he was soon followed by James and Sirius.

"Oh—okay, sure," Emma said unsurely, shooting a look at Lily, who simply shrugged. As the two walked away, Lily turned to the two dark-haired boys.

"What's going on?" she asked them and they shared a look before shrugging.

"No bloody clue, Evans," Sirius finally came out with and she sighed.

"Let's hope it's nothing bad, then," she muttered before falling backwards onto the couch. A few minutes later, she was joined by the two boys and the three of them simply stared upside down at the fire.

-&-

"Em, look, about earlier—I mean, I shouldn't—well, what I'm—okay, let me try again," Remus said nervously as he and Emma walked around the lake outside.

"Remmy, what are you trying to say?" Emma asked, looking worriedly at the boy who was usually more reserved and less...nervous.

"Well, I'm trying to explain my, um, complication to you, but it's not really working and I—," Remus explained before Emma put a finger up to signal for him to be quiet.

"Look, whatever it is, I'm sure you have a good reason to not tell me. Lily made me think about it when she told me—," the blond started and Remus cried out. "Calm down, she didn't tell me what it was. She said that she had promised she wouldn't, so Lily didn't. But she _did_ tell me that it wasn't a normal complication, and that it scared even you, so I'm okay with not knowing—I think," Emma finished, her eyes trying to register some sort of reaction from the blank look she was receiving.

"You—you don't care that you don't know?" Remus asked indifferently, while the wheels in his head were turning and trying to figure out the pros and cons of the situation he was in.

"No, not at the moment, no, I don't. Although, I mean, it might just be because I'm just a little excited about you, you know," Emma answered, suddenly blushing profusely.

"Em, come with me," Remus said, grabbing her hand and running into the school.

"Where are we going?" she asked him as he dropped her hand in one of the hallways and started pacing. "Remus—Merlin's fuzzy knickers," Emma suddenly whispered as a door appeared in front of them.

Remus looked around for a few minutes before grabbing Emma's hand again. "Come on in," he said, opening the door and dragging her in.

"What are we doing here?" Emma asked as she studied the room she was in. It was almost an exact replica of the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I'm going to tell you my, um, _complication_," Remus muttered and Emma sat down in one of the armchairs and Remus sat in the one across from it.

"Okay, shoot," she said encouragingly, scooting forward in her seat so she was literally on the edge of it.

"You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone, whether or not you still like me when you hear it," Remus whispered, fidgeting in his seat.

"Remmy, you're finally opening up, how could I hate you for that?" Emma said happily and Remus returned her with his own smile.

"Okay, here goes then...I'm a—I'm a—," Remus started quietly, and mumbled the last part so softly that Emma couldn't hear it even when he leaned in.

"It doesn't count as telling me if I don't hear it," she told him, simply watching him as he gathered up his courage again.

"I'mawerewolf," said Remus quickly. He looked up to see Emma staring at him, her brown eyes wide.

"You're a—but you—how could—you're not—as in—huh?" the blond said, unable to string a proper sentence together.

"I'm a—I'm a werewolf. You know, those large monsters that appear every full moon," Remus muttered, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"Remmy, you—but you're so...not a monster," Emma whispered, moving from her armchair to the coffee table so that she didn't have to talk too loudly. She was pretty sure that it was just the two of them in the room, but she still didn't feel like saying it too loudly.

"I guess not, but I turn into one every month," he scowled leaning forward a little to look at his feet and clasped his hands together.

"I'm sure you're not," said Emma, putting her hands around his. "You're just—a product of fate is all," she whispered, staring down at the ground as well.

"You've been listening to Vesta again, haven't you?" Remus chuckled weakly.

"Either way, you're not a monster, you're just Remus John Lupin," she whispered, putting her lips on his cheek for a second before pulling away slowly. "A Prefect who doesn't seem to be able to control some things," she added, then gave him a small smile.

"So you're not—scared or anything?" Remus asked in shock.

"I think I was expecting something worse, actually. The way Lily tried to explain it without giving it away made it sound like you'd gone and joined that stupid group of what's-his-face," Emma muttered, shrugging.

"You mean the Death Eaters?" he asked and she nodded. "I'd never join them, that much is for sure," Remus said, shaking his head.

"Alright then—can we go back now? I think Lily was on the verge of being nice to James," she joked and he nodded. The two stood up and headed for the door, but before they got there Emma stopped in her tracks. "Does this mean we're, I don't know, a couple now?" she asked Remus, biting the corner of her lip.

Remus, who had turned when she stopped walking, moved so that he stood in front of her and pulled her into a small, gentle kiss—one that sent butterflies aflutter in Emma's stomach.

"Okay, good," Emma whispered as she grabbed Remus' hand and started out the door, with a confused, but smiling, Remus following.

-&-

**Author's Note: **If you could all be dolls and hit the button? Please and thank you to _fanfictionpie_, _JJ-000-JJ_, and _Kathy_ for the reviews!  
-_imagine everything_


	14. I Have Never

**Author's Note:** Okay, so I'm slowly getting back into the groove of this HP roleplaying site, so the updates might be a bit more sporadic (not to mention that I still have school projects and school starts in a couple weeks for me!), but I hope they'll be worth the wait! Also, this isn't really super important to the plot--more of a filler chapter, if you will, enjoy anyway (I hope!)!

**Disclaimer:** Anything familiar is not mine, it's Jo's...oh, except for one line that Remus says—I kind of borrowed that from Stephanie Meyer because it was stuck in my head and dying to be used.

-&-

**Chapter Fourteen: I Have Never...**

-&-

"Merlin, Lily, _no_!" Emma cried laughingly as she and Lily sat on the floor in the Common Room. The two were in the midst of a Muggle game called 'I Have Never.' It was a chilly Sunday in May, the one before exams week, actually, and everyone around them was studying.

"Shh!" one of the fifth years cried out from her corner. Her outburst made Lily and Emma share a look and start giggling to themselves.

"Okay, your turn," Lily whispered as she held out her six fingers left.

"Hmm, okay, I have never...read a book more than ten times," Emma replied and Lily glared at her.

"I hate you," she said angrily as she put down another finger.

"Hello there, girls," Sirius said happily as he took a seat next to Emma and Remus sat on her other side.

"What's going on?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow at the two of them and their spread out fingers.

"We're playing 'I Have Never,'" Emma replied simply after placing a small kiss on Remus' cheek.

"How do you play?" Sirius asked as Lily bit the corner of her lip.

"What's this? A meeting without me?" James' voice laughed as he sat himself next to Lily.

"They're playing 'I Have Never,'" Remus said matter-of-factly as Lily's nose scrunched up in concentration.

"How do you—?" James started when Lily said a proud 'I got it!'

"Got what?" Emma asked, peering at her friend worriedly.

"I have never snogged Sirius Black," she said proudly and Emma slapped Lily's arm, causing the red-head to laugh heartily. "Well, Em?" she asked, and Emma turned a bright pink.

"You're horrible," Emma whispered as she put down her seventh finger.

"What just happened?" James stage-whispered to his best friends.

"I'm not sure," Remus replied unsurely as the two girls argued.

"I have never kissed James Potter—accidental, or unintentional, or anything," Emma spat out and Lily narrowed her eyes.

"Will you two _shut up_?" a fifth year cried out and a few others echoed her statement.

"To the lake?" Lily asked Emma, her eyes back to their usually wideness.

"Definitely," Emma muttered, gathering her stuff and the two headed for the portrait hole, the boys following.

"So, what's this game you're playing?" James asked Lily as he caught up with her.

"It's a Muggle game called 'I Have Never.' You play it with a group of people, and what you do is hold out all your fingers," Lily started.

"Then one person starts, giving the group a statement that starts with 'I have never.' If anyone in the group _has_ done it, they have to put a finger down—the last one with any fingers up wins," Emma finished in a proud tone. "But since Lily and I have already started playing," she continued as she and Lily pushed at the door. "Stupid door," she muttered as the two of them didn't get the door to budge without the help of the boys. "Anyway, since Emma and I have already started a round, you have to wait until the next round," Emma finished as they walked down the lakeside.

"_If_ you want to play, that is," Lily said simply, as she sat down in a fairly grassy area, tucking her legs underneath her. "Whose turn is it?" she asked Emma, who plopped down in front of her.

"Yours, I ended with the James thing, remember?" Emma said matter-of-factly as the boys crowded around them in curiosity.

"Ah yes, okay then—," Lily said, biting the inside of her cheek. "Hm, I have never...played a full game of Quidditch," she said simply, and Emma narrowed her eyes at her.

"Jeeze, this should be played by two strangers—it would be so much more fun not knowing things about the person," Emma muttered to herself as she put down her sixth finger.

"So? You still have one more finger than my five," Lily said, and they started laughing as if the boys weren't there.

"Wait, you've never played Quidditch?" James asked incredulously, interrupted their laughter, making the two of them turn a little.

"I know—mind-boggling isn't it?" Emma chuckled and Lily removed a leg from underneath her to kick her best friend. "She's never even ridden a broom before," she added, rolling her eyes.

"But I thought it was mandatory for students to attend the flying lessons," Remus said in a confused tone and Emma nodded.

"It is, but I caught the case of 'unnecessary spell-use' the first day, and was being lectured by McGonagall while the class was going on," Lily explained indifferently. "The rest of the days I was either in the hospital wing or doing something more important for another teacher," she shrugged as Sirius looked at her incredulously. James would've joined Sirius, but he was having too much fun remembering the day of Lily 'unnecessary spell-usage.'

"Oh," was all Remus replied before Emma turned to Lily.

"My turn. I have never remembered a superbly detailed account of _anything_," the blond said matter-of-factly as she smiled menacingly at Lily.

"Define..._detailed_," Lily replied hesitantly.

"As in it happened three years ago, but you can still write down every detail from that day kind of detailed," Emma said matter-of-factly and Lily sighed before putting down her fifth finger.

"Let's see—I have never—," Lily started and Sirius suddenly whispered something in her ear, making her eyes go wide. "I am _so_ not saying that, Black!" she shouted and Sirius shrugged.

"Thought I'd give it a shot," he muttered.

"What was it?" the rest asked curiously.

"Care to share, Black?" Lily asked Sirius, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I said I have never been snogged in a broom closet would be a good one, eh, Em?" Sirius said, winking at Emma, who had turned bright red.

"Are you serious? I thought he was _joking_!" Lily cried, her mouth falling open.

"This is war, Black," Emma said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Can we just skip this round and start a new game?" she asked, smiling menacingly at Sirius, who shot her his own smile.

"If you want to," Lily chuckled, holding out ten fingers. "This should be interesting," she mumbled under her breath as Remus and James scooted in and they made a small circle. "Come on, unless you're too chicken," Lily called out to Sirius, who had not moved into the circle.

"Who starts?" James asked and Remus shrugged.

"You can if you want, James," Lily said absently as she and Emma had a wordless conversation.

"Okay then, let's see...I have never...had to clean the Muggle way," he shrugged and Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, it explains the dorm," Lily shrugged as she put a finger down.

"Ah-ha, thus explains the coming-down-from-the-boys-dorm a few weeks ago," Emma cried out and Lily rolled her eyes. "Okay, your turn, Remmy," she shrugged and the blond boy nodded, thinking deeply.

"I have never touched a Golden Snitch in my life," he said, and watched with glee as James, Sirius, and Emma all put their fingers down.

"Hmm," Emma whispered as she thought quietly about it. "I have never—kicked anyone," she said finally, watching as James and Lily put their fingers down.

"What do you call that thing you did a few days ago? The one when you were trying to get me to give your notes back?" Sirius cried, standing up.

"Sit down, Padfoot. It's called a nudge. I was there and there wasn't much force put into it," Remus said in an exasperated tone. Sirius just _loved_ to exaggerate sometimes.

"Honestly, Black, you're so immature sometimes," Lily sighed as he sat back down. He simply stuck his tongue out at her, and she reciprocated with the same gesture. "It's your turn," she said, leaning backwards a little.

"Okay, I have never kissed a guy—as in _any_ guy," Sirius said indifferently and Lily and Emma rolled their eyes while putting their fingers down.

"Okay then, I have never kissed a girl—as in _any _girl," Lily chuckled and Sirius stuck his tongue out at her again. "Stick it out again and I'll cut it off and feed it to the giant squid," the redhead replied calmly and Sirius quickly pulled his tongue back into his mouth. "Your turn," she added to James, who nodded.

"I have never...kept a secret from my best friend," James said simply, not anticipating the reaction—Lily, Emma, and Remus all putting their fingers down.

"You've kept a secret from me?" Emma asked incredulously.

"Well, obviously _you've_ kept a secret from me as well," Lily replied as Sirius smirked, sitting back and watching the show.

"What secret did you keep from me?" Emma wanted to know and Lily opened her mouth to say something, and hesitated.

"What secret have _you_ been keeping from me?" she asked and Emma glanced at Remus, who nodded.

"The one about Remus at that certain time of the month," Emma choked out and Lily started laughing hysterically.

"What's wrong with her?" Sirius asked as James went over to Lily, who was rolling around on the ground.

"I think she's in hysterics—maybe you should slap her," Remus replied unsurely as Lily waved off their concern as she sat up and calmed down.

"I've been keeping the same secret," she stammered out and Emma started out in the hysterics.

"What's wrong with her?" Sirius repeated and Emma sat up, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself.

"I suppose we shouldn't ask _you_ what you kept from these boneheads, huh?" Lily chuckled out and Remus nodded.

"Okay, so it's—_my_ turn, right?" Remus asked, and the rest of the group nodded.

"Rubber chickens," Sirius suddenly blurted out, gaining strange looks from everyone around him. "Oh, never mind—just remind me later, okay, Prongs?" he shrugged and James nodded.

"Okay, so...I have never—hexed a Slytherin directly," he said simply and Lily shot a look at James and Sirius, who were left at six and seven, respectively. "Okay, Em?" Remus asked, turning to his girlfriend.

"I have never been in the Forbidden Forest," she said matter-of-factly, and was surprised when Lily put a finger down. "What are you—when did you—?" Emma asked, unable to string a sentence together as the boys shared a knowing look.

"It was, um, _last year_," Lily said, sending Emma silent signals through her eyes. After a moment, Emma nodded.

"Oh, that was in the Forest?" Emma asked and Lily nodded. "Okay, well, then, um, Sirius, your turn," she stammered and the boys shared a confused look.

"Right, hm—I have never, let's see, what _haven't_ we done, Prongs?" he asked James, who was also deep in concentration.

"Well, we've never listened to Minnie—no, there was that time—I honestly don't know, Pads," James muttered in reply and Remus rolled his eyes.

"How about 'I have never had four legs?'" Emma joked, squeezing Remus' hand, and Remus shot her a mock-angry glare.

"Um, no," Sirius and James muttered under their breaths.

"'Um, _no_, Black, Potter?" Lily asked, her Prefect/Mother voice scaring them a little.

"Yeah, that would be the, um, appropriate reply," James stuttered and Sirius nodded fervently.

"Don't worry about it, Lily," Sirius said, trying to calm her down.

"If I find out you've been doing some sort of illegal magic—," Lily started when Emma cut her off.

"There you go! How about 'I have never done illegal magic?'" she asked and the boys shook their heads and she gave them a confused look.

"How about...'I have never snogged—Lily?'" Remus suggested and became the receiving end of Lily's glare, while James sent one to Sirius, as if daring him to say that he had.

"Okay, then, that one, I guess," Sirius said unsurely, fidgeting a bit. With that, no one put their fingers down but James.

"The random kisses you try to get out of me don't count as snogs, Potter," Lily said menacingly.

"It's the same thing, Evans," James replied, just as menacingly. "And I don't try, I succeed," he added, smirking at her and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Okay, this is getting a little..." Remus started and Emma finished with a whispered, "awkward," to which he nodded.

"I have never snogged Remus," Lily said, giving Emma a smirk as the blond girl made a face at her best friend.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Em. At least we're not in danger like Mister and Mrs. One-hand over there," Sirius laughed and Lily used her free hand to slap his arm. "Owe, Evans, that hurt," he whined and she shrugged.

"I have never snogged...Abigail Barret," James said, smiling widely as Sirius put a finger down.

"Really, must I find out your snog-mates?" Lily asked in a disgusted tone, making Emma and Remus laugh.

"No, if you go out with me," James said and Lily took a deep breath.

"Okay, Potter, since it's obviously not going through," Lily said before taking a deep breath again. "_NO!"_ she shouted at the top of her lungs. Once she had done that, she pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and turned to Remus. "Your turn," she said calmly as James blinked from the sudden noise.

"Wow, you've got a set of lungs," Sirius said disbelievingly, exhaling a huge breath. "Would come in handy when you're snogging, you know—Oof," he cried out as Lily slapped him—in the face and harder this time.

"I don't' think this is a safe game anymore," Emma whispered to Remus as Lily and Sirius started yelling at each other, and James tried to play peace-maker but was just told to shove off.

"Yeah—you want to come for a walk with me?" Remus asked quietly into Emma's ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"I'd love to," she replied softly and he took her hand and they stood up, heading as far away from their friends as they could.

-&-

**Author's Note: **So, was it worth the wait? Read and Review please, please, please. Thanks again to _fanfictionpie_ for the review!  
-_imagine everything_


	15. Pretend Potter Isn't Potter

**Author's Note: **I'm sosososo_so_ sorry for making you guys wait so long! I just started high school, and we all know that's not a nice place, so it was a little hard at first. And I got back into this site that's _really _addicting, so I got caught up in that too. Hope this chapter is worth the wait though.

**Disclaimer: **Anything familiar doesn't belong to me, but to Jo.

-&-

**Chapter Fifteen: Pretend Potter Isn't Potter**

-&-

"Can you believe that we only have one more year until we have to leave Hogwarts?" Emma asked the Common Room as they all gathered around the fire. It was May of their sixth year, and two nights before they had to leave.

"Hey, it's not as hard to believe as the fact that Prongs here got—what was it?—fifty or so kisses out of Evans," Sirius blurted out and a maroon throw pillow made contact with his face. "That hurt, Evans," he said, but then he realized that she wasn't even listening. Sirius raised an eyebrow as he watched the redhead stare at the flickering fire before turning to his friends. "Who threw that?" his voice becoming hushed.

"Emma," Remus replied, just as quietly as the blond nodded.

"Why are we speaking quietly?" Peter squeaked as Emma suddenly stood up, grabbing Sirius and Remus' arms as she did so. The three boys looked up unsurely, and she nodded towards the boys' dorm's steps. "Where are we going?" Peter asked as Emma dragged them towards the steps.

"Shh, just get up there and I'll explain," she whispered firmly and the three followed suit, shrugging to each other. As soon as the four of them reached the boys' dorm, Emma shut the door behind them and squealed—loudly.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Sirius cried out as he covered his ears. The boys had sat at the foot of each of their beds, wondering what had possessed Emma.

"You three are so unobservant," Emma sighed as she walked around the room, trying to dodge whatever the boys had left unpacked on the floor with a disgusted look on her face.

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked hesitantly as the blond sat on the end of his bed next to him.

She placed a small kiss on his cheek, giggling a little. "You didn't see James approaching Lily? At _all_?" Emma asked and the three of them shook their heads. "Well, he was. And he looked so—I don't know what the word is, I guess _serious_ would work. Either way, it looked like it wouldn't end in her yelling," Emma explained and Remus nodded understandingly.

"So you moved us here to keep it that way," he said, smiling proudly at her before glaring pointedly at the other two.

"What?" Sirius cried out, raising his hands in a surrender-like position.

"You and Peter would've mentioned James' 'accomplishments' with Lily, is all," Emma said smugly as Sirius turned to Peter to see if _he_ would protest. The boy was much too busy with his chocolate frogs to follow the conversation.

"Alright, so we might've, but so what?" Sirius shrugged indifferently as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Emma asked worriedly as Sirius headed for the door.

"To the Common Room," he said just before Remus tackled him.

"No, you're not," Emma said as she walked over to the two boys, who were wrestling over every piece of filth on their floor.

"Why not?" Sirius grunted as he threw a piece of paper at her feet.

"What is this supposed to do? Make me feel better?" Emma laughed as she picked it up. It was an intricately folded piece of parchment. "I'm glad that you're skilled in origami, but how is this supposed to help?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the boys, who had stopped. That was when Remus hit Sirius on the back of the head.

"You dolt, you didn't activate it before you showed her," Remus said, standing up and pulling out his wand.

"Well, how could I? You were on top of me!" Sirius complained as he joined the other two, standing to Emma's left as Remus stood by her right.

"We solemnly swear we are up to no good," Remus muttered and Emma opened her mouth to say something as writing appeared on the parchment. "Go ahead," Remus smiled as she started reading it.

"Mister Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail would like to welcome the beautiful Emma Reed to their humble abode. Even though it's simply a _map _of their abode," Emma read aloud, her voice getting more confused as she did so. "What the hell is this, Remus?" she asked, turning to him as Sirius snickered.

"Such language to a man who just complimented you?" he chortled and Emma glared at him, making him shut up.

"Calm down, Em. Open it," Remus instructed and, sighing, she did so.

"Merlin's beard, this is a map, isn't it, Remmy?" Emma whispered as she stared down at the moving footprints and the lines, with little words surrounding it, holding the secrets of Hogwarts.

"_The_ Marauder's Map," Remus replied, almost cockily. Of course, he had good reason to. It took a lot of charms, as well as a bit of transfiguration, to make the map, and Charms was Remus' best class while James had Transfiguration.

"The _Marauder's_ Map—Marauder's as in that group the four of you made up when you were in...was it third year?" Emma asked, scrunching up her nose in concentration.

"Yeah, it was third year," Remus replied, sighing patiently as he kissed Emma's cheek. "Now, check the Common Room," he instructed, opening the map and pointing to a certain area.

"Oh hey look, there you are, and me, and Sirius," Emma laughed as she pointed to three sets of footprints huddled close together. "But I don't see Lily or James..." she whispered as she searched the Common Room and the surrounding areas. "Where are they?" the blond asked, obviously confused.

"Out for a joyride," Sirius muttered, well, seriously as he pointed towards the other end of the school—to the Quidditch Pitch. Sure enough, the footprints of Lily and James were standing, or in this case sitting, near each other and zooming in unison all over the Pitch. "Well, I guess we don't have to worry about the Common Room being dangerous ground, huh?" Sirius continued as he practically pranced down the stairs.

Remus took Emma's hand and started towards the Common Room, but the girl stayed put. "Don't worry about them. I'm sure that's really James and Lily flying around together; the Map never lies," he assured her as he stood in front of her, putting her small hands in his.

"I'm not doubting that; it's just that I'm worried about Lily—," Emma whispered as she shook her head, her blonde curls softly caressing Remus' cheek as she did so.

"Why?" the werewolf asked as he kissed Emma's forehead.

"I—I just don't want her to get hurt," she muttered, biting her lip unsurely, making Remus let out a short burst of genuine laughter. "What?" she asked unsurely as she looked up at him.

"You're worried about Lily dating James while you're dating me?" Remus asked as he escorted Emma down the stairs.

"You know I don't think you're a monster, Remmy. You're just Remmy to me," she smiled as she followed.

-&-

"Lily?" James asked quietly, his hand halfway reaching out for her. He smiled his crooked smile when she looked up at him, her green eyes a little dazed from staring at the fire for too long.

"Hm?" was all she said as she turned back to the fire. James took this as an invitation to talk and sat down next to her, close enough to feel her body heat radiating off of her, but not close enough to be touching...yet, he hoped.

"What are you thinking about?" he wondered quietly as he stared at her profile.

"I'm not sure," she answered, and he was taken aback. He hadn't thought she had heard him. "There's so much to think about, but then again, I don't want to think about them," she continued, not adding the fact that he, James Finn Potter, was one of them.

"Well," James started, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm his nerves. "I guess what you need is an escape," he muttered, shrugging as she turned her head to send him a quizzical look. "Like an outlet for all those thoughts; something where you can just...let go of it all," he continued, his voice getting subconsciously lower as she continued to stare at him with a quizzical look. "Like flying is for me," James finished before Lily shook her head lightly.

"I've lived without one for sixteen years; I think I can survive another night," Lily replied, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

James took this as good news and shook his head. "No, no you're not," he said firmly, standing up.

"What are you talking about?" the redhead inquired, suddenly worried as he held his hand out to her.

"You're coming with me, and we're going to find you an escape," the raven-haired boy replied simply, gesturing his hand towards hers again. He grinned as she warily took his hand and stood up as well. "Come on," he added, tightening his grip around her delicate-looking fingers and dragging her out of the Common Room.

"Where exactly do you think I'll find my escape at?" Lily wondered as they ran through staircase after staircase, her eyes darting everywhere as she tried to make sure that she wasn't going to get in trouble.

"The Pitch," he said simply and her eyes widened.

"No way, Potter. I'm _not_ flying! I _can't_ fly!" Lily cried out as she tried to fight James' firm hold.

"Lily Addison Evans never says 'can't,'" James said simply as he got his broom out of the closet, revelling in the wonderful warmth of Lily's small hand in his larger, more calloused hand.

"Well now she is," Lily murmured, her voice defeated as she allowed James to drag her to the middle of the Pitch. That's when she noticed that he only held _one_ broom. "I'm not riding that thing alone," she said firmly, still trying to pull her hand out of James', even though deep inside of her she was enjoying the warmth.

"Fine then," James said, finally letting go of her hand, fully aware that she might run, and settling into the curve of his broom.

Lily, as much as she _thought_ she wanted, didn't run the minute he let go of her. Instead, she stood in her spot and watched him comfortably settle into the broom's curvature. She was watching him intently when he turned to her, a proud smile suddenly gracing his face and making her blush.

"Are you getting on?" he asked her, running a hand through his hair. James seemed to be trying to make his hair look better, but in reality he was trying to hide his nervously shaking hand from Lily in his tousled hair.

"No," Lily whispered quietly. It wasn't firmly because a part of her wanted to try this whole flying-as-an-escape fiasco, but she was deathly afraid of it when Frank Longbottom smashed against a wall when his broom went haywire. Ever since then, she'd never really put another finger on any sort of magical broom.

"Come on, Evans," James said encouragingly, a teasing smile on his face. Lily simply shook her head, making him even more determined to get on the broom. "It won't kill you, I swear; Longbottom just isn't coordinated," he told her quietly. His statement made her look up at him with surprised, doe-like eyes.

"How did you—?" she asked before realizing he was probably there when it happened.

"I heard you and Emma talking after that happened. She was excited for the Quidditch game and the next few lessons, and you swore on Merlin's fuzzy knickers that you'd never get on a broom if you can help it," James explained, thinking it would help any. He was irrevocably mistaken.

"So you know that I won't go on that thing," Lily spat and he looked a little wounded.

"She's not a thing," James said, putting a gentle hand on the broom's handle.

"_She_?" Lily asked incredulously, holding back a giggle.

"Yeah, I call her Vera," said James lovingly, smiling genuinely at the broom, making Lily's face grow sombre.

"Well, I'm still not getting on Vera," the redhead whispered quietly and firmly. She crossed her arms and bit her lip to keep from running away.

"Get on Vera or I'll chase you down," James said, his eyes getting a little darker, but still holding a hint of mischief around them.

"You can't catch me!" Lily cried out as she started running, a huge grin on her face. Really, though, he didn't expect her to catch him. He may have been taller than her, but being a small, delicate creature like she was helped with her speed. So she headed for the outskirts of the school's boundaries, surprisingly near the Forbidden Forest, before turning around to see a stag—the same one from that night—following her, running gaily after her. The redhead stopped in her tracks, green eyes wide, as it stopped in front of her as well, a confused look in its—his—doe-like eyes. After a moment, he realized what was going on and hung his head low.

The stag made a small noise and snapped Lily out of her shock. He watched as she basically crumpled to the floor, her mouth trying to form words unsuccessfully. The stag nudged her elbow with his cold nose lightly and she shook her head, her green eyes following his every move.

"You—you can't be, right? I mean, there was—and Emma was—no," Lily whispered, burying her head into her hands.

James took this opportune moment to change back from his stag form and put a hesitant hand on Lily's shoulder, making her look up quickly. "Lily," he whispered unsurely as she stared at him blankly.

"James, you were just a—a _stag_ weren't you?" Lily asked breathlessly, her eyes searching.

The raven-haired boy hesitated, looking at anything but her curious green eyes. After a moment, he swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm an Animagus," he whispered so softly that Lily strained to hear it.

"'I have never done illegal magic,'" Lily quoted from memory, remembering Emma's statement that James and Sirius had tried to avoid. She hung her head low, deep in thought.

"Yeah, this would be the 'I have' part," James replied, running a hand through his hair. "We're not registered, and the Ministry can't know about us, Lil," he continued after a moment of silence. "If you tell them about us—," he started before she looked up incredulously.

"Who said anything about telling the Ministry?" she asked, her voice almost going above a whisper.

"Well, I, er, I thought you would go, you know, because you're one of those sticklers for the rules," he replied nervously, running his hand through his hair again.

Lily narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, now that you say that, maybe I _should_ go to the Ministry," she said icily and James' eyes widened.

"I was—I was joking?" the raven-haired boy replied nervously. After a moment of him staring unsurely at Lily, the redhead started laughing.

"I won't, but—how? _Why_, more importantly," Lily replied, biting her lip. She was more curious as to if he knew whether or not she had been compelled by that stag—him, to be precise—that one night. No, she couldn't tell him—after all, Lily Addison Evans _couldn't_ be falling in love with him...right?

"How, from theory; basically, Remus just told us what we needed to do, and we did," James explained casually as he started walking deeper into the forest. Lily hesitated, but her curiosity got the best of her and she followed, running to keep up with him. "And why is because of Remus and his furry little problem," the raven-haired boy continued slowly, as if waiting for her to run away and tell Dumbledore or something.

"But—becoming an Animagus is such an advanced form of Transfiguration," Lily argued and James scoffed.

"You're talking to the _king_ of Transfiguration geniuses, Lily-flower; I can do _anything_," James laughed and Lily stopped walking. He turned around, looking at her worriedly as her green eyes narrowed at him.

"Just when I was just—ugh! You're insufferable, James Potter," she cried out. She was just actually thinking of him as...as something remotely human, he went and became an insufferable toe-rag.

-&-

"Lily, you can't keep making excuses to be mad at him," Emma sighed in exasperation as she sat with her best friend on the roof of Gryffindor Tower the next night.

"I'm not making excuses—it's the truth," Lily snapped back, folding herself into a fetal position, rubbing at her cold calves.

"Of course—that's why you were able to walk into the Forbidden Forest, not tell anyone about his secret, but me of course, and sit here calmly to argue about your side?" the blonde asked and her best friend sighed.

"I don't know anymore, Em. I'm just—confused," the redhead replied, putting her face between her knees.

"Well, I suggest you figure it out, because we've got a dance next year. And if you _do_ 'love' that stag, like it seemed like you did, then you have to fix it. You can't just go through life thinking it'll be easy," Emma replied wisely, leaning back to stare at the stars.

"Because then it would be Linda Parkinson," Lily finished, laughing at the thought of the pug-faced Slytherin.

"Alright, alright—look, I'm not the only one that thinks James is madly in love with you, if that helps any," Emma replied and Lily scoffed, but remained silent otherwise. "Remmy thinks that he's smitten—and Sirius backs him up on that. Even oblivious Peter can tell that the boy would do _anything_ for you—take this whole stag-risking-his-life business. Would you have been glad for that stag if you knew it was James? Probably not, but since you didn't, you felt like you had a connection with it. Just pretend that James isn't James for a moment—that he was simply a boy who was madly in love with you and would do anything for you and would move the _world_ to make you happy, would be happy?" Emma asked, sitting up to face her friend, who was silent as she stared out above the trees of the Forbidden Forest.

As Lily stared, she thought, and as she thought a small smile appeared on her face. At the same time the smile appeared, a small flutter went around her stomach. Pretending Potter wasn't Potter—it _was_ possible. Just as Lily was about to admit to this, she shook her head. "Just because I can _imagine_ Potter as not Potter doesn't mean that he's still not Potter in reality," she snapped and Emma groaned, lying back down.

Suddenly the blonde sat up, a knowing look in her eyes. "So you're saying that if James acted less like a—."

"Annoying, arrogant, bullying toe-rag," Lily finished, making sure that Emma got the main reasons she didn't like him.

"Yeah, that—you're saying that if he stopped being that, or at least acted less like one, he _might_ have a chance?" Emma finished with a hopeful look on her face.

Lily opened her mouth to say something but hesitated. _Is _that what she meant? "Yes, but there's more than just being annoying, arrogant, a bully, and a toe-rag that makes me angry at him," Lily said firmly and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," the sixteen-year-old said casually as she leaned back again. As casual as she sounded, the girl actually had a brilliant, albeit a little devious, plan in mind.

-&-

**Author's Note: **I really hoped you guys enjoyed it. And reviews are appreciated!  
-_imagine everything_


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